'Combat Connectors Remaining...': IAF Tells Delhi HC What Led To Accidental BrahMos Firing Into Pakistan In 2022

The Indian Air Force informed the Delhi High Court that the accidental firing of a Brahmos missile in March 2022, which landed in Pakistan, was because of its combat connectors ‘remaining connected to the junction box’.

This is the first time that the IAF revealed reasons behind the combat missile’s accidental firing, The Economic Times reported.

The IAF shared necessary findings of the Court of Inquiry held — in March 2022 — to investigate the incident. In the reply filed in the HC, it said that the “combat crew knowing that the combat connectors of combat missiles are connected to junction box, failed to intervene to prevent the Mobile Autonomous Launcher commander from committing an unsafe act of launching Combat Missile, resulting in launch of missile into the neighbouring nation, thereby causing potential threat to any airborne/ground object/personnel and causing damage to the reputation of the Indian Air Force and the nation at large.”

The Court of Inquiry noted that the government exchequer incurred a loss of nearly Rs 25 crore due to this incident. The IAF noted that the accidental firing also brought along the effects of India-Pakistan’s affected relationship.

The Court of Inquiry had also found three IAF officers — all part of the combat team — to be “primarily responsible” for the misfiring incident. It was found that “deviation from the SOP” by the officers led to the accidental firing of the missile.

The three officers were — Group Captain Saurabh Gupta, Squadron Leader Pranjal Singh, and Wing Commander Abhinav Sharma, HT report said.

The Indian Air Force had said, “Three officers have primarily been held responsible for the BrahMos missile misfiring incident on 9th March 2022. Their services have been terminated by Central Government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers today, August 23.”

At the time, Islamabad had also summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires and conveyed its strong protest over the “unprovoked” violation of its airspace by the supersonic “projectile” of Indian origin.

This reply, filed by the Indian Air Force in the Delhi HC, was in response to a petition filed by Wing Commander Abhinav Sharma who attributed the blame on Air Commodore and Squadron Leader JT Kurien. Sharma’s petition blamed Kurief for “ignoring and overriding the safety precaution popups”.

However, the IAF termed these allegations against Kurien as “conjectures, surmises, bald, baseless and without any substantiating evidence,” adding that he was in “no position to avert the firing of missile”.

The Pakistan foreign office had in 2022 said that the “super-sonic flying object” entered into Pakistan from India’s Suratgarh at 6:43 pm (PST) on March 9 and fell to the ground near Mian Channu city at around 6:50 pm, causing damage to civilian property.