India sacks air force officers for ‘firing’ missile into Pakistan

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force on Tuesday sacked three officers for the accidental firing of a cruise missile into nuclear-armed rival Pakistan following a months-long investigation by New Delhi.

The unarmed BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic missile was accidently launched from a secret military base in northern India in early March before the projectile landed roughly 125 kilometers inside Pakistani territory without causing any damage to life or property.

A statement by the air force said that a probe into the incident had found three of its officers guilty of violating standard operating procedures that led to the mishap. “These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the Central Govt with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Islamabad had said that a “supersonic flying object” cruising at 40,000 feet from India had violated its airspace and hit an uninhabited civilian area on March 9. New Delhi had immediately acknowledged the mistake, which Islamabad said endangered civil air planes and lodged a diplomatic protest. India had termed the incident “deeply regrettable” and promised an investigation at the highest level. Pakistan had demanded a joint probe into the misfire and questioned New Delhi’s nuclear and missile safety protocols.

But in a rare instance, both the nuclear-armed nations unusually downplayed the incident despite a history of deep mistrust and hostility. BrahMos is one of India’s frontline nuclear-armed projectiles and is believed to be among the fastest cruise missiles in the world. It can be launched from land, sea and air.The cruise missiles -- travelling at three times the speed of sound -- are jointly developed by India and Russia, and named after India’s river Brahmaputra and Russia’s Moskva River, with ranges varying from 300 to 700 kilometers.