3 IAF officers dismissed over accidental firing of Brahmos missile
The incident had taken place in March when the Indian missile had misfired deep into Pakistan’s territory.
The defence ministry on Tuesday served a letter of termination to three Indian Air Force officers for their negligence which led to the accidental misfiring of the Brahmos missile deep into the territory of neighboring Pakistan.
The incident had occurred earlier on March 9 this year when an unarmed Brahmos missile just 7 mins after its launch landed some 124 kilometers deep into Pakistan’s territory near Mian Chunnu town causing little to no damage.
While the notorious nation submitted its strong protest by summoning India’s Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad for unprovoked violation of its airspace, it also called for a thorough inquiry and asked for its result to be shared in a transparent manner. The Indian side in its reply described the incident as deeply regrettable and ordered a Court of Inquiry (COI).
Although initially, the defence ministry had issued a statement notifying that the misfire had resulted as a consequence of a technical glitch during the routine maintenance of the missile but the constituted COI found that the deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by the officers in question led to the unwarranted incident. The three officers included who were sacked consisted of a Group Captain, a Wing Commander and a Squadron Leader.
After the incident Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while addressing the parliament told that SOPs for operations, maintenance, and inspection of such systems were being reviewed. However, while the three concerned officers have been served their fate, the measures adopted to keep from any such incidents repeating in the future are yet to be intimated by the ministry.
