Three IAF officers sacked over accidental firing of BrahMos missile that landed in Pakistan

New Delhi: Three Indian Air Force officers were on Tuesday terminated over the accidental firing of a BrahMos missile that landed in Pakistan.

A Group Captain, a Wing Commander and a Squadron Leader were sacked, ANI quoted IAF officials as saying.

"A Court of Inquiry (Col), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile," an official statement said.

"These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23," it added.

What happened

On 9 March 2022, an unarmed BrahMos missile accidentally landed in Pakistan. No casualties were reported in the incident. Following the misfiring, Pakistan had summoned India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over "unprovoked violation of its airspace."

The Indian defence ministry had termed the incident "deeply regrettable".

"On March 9, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry," the defence ministry had said.

A joint India-Russia venture, BrahMos is a medium-range missile that can be fired from submarines, warships, aircraft, and land. Notably, BrahMos is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

With inputs from agencies

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