Brahmos misfiring: Probe points to Group Captain for failing to maintain safety standard, say sources

New Delhi: The preliminary findings of an inquiry into the accidental firing of a Brahmos missile into Pakistani territory during a training drill earlier this month point to an air force group captain's failure in maintaining safety standards, according to sources. The officer is likely to face disciplinary action once the high-level inquiry is completed, they said.

India's top leadership has taken a very serious view of the accidental firing of the tactical cruise missile. The incident raised a diplomatic offensive from nuclear-armed Pakistan, which has demanded a joint probe into the matter.

Sources said the group captain was in charge of the mobile battery unit of the Brahmos and was present at the location when the incident took place. They said the firing occurred when the unit was undergoing a safety and operational efficiency inspection at its home base in Haryana. The inquiry has been entrusted to an air vice marshal posted at the Air HQ and is likely to go into the details of the incident and suggest corrective measures to prevent any such recurrence. Pakistan's demand for a joint probe into the incident is unlikely to be considered, with officials terming it as a rarest of the rare incident.


As reported, heads are expected to roll over the incident that has raised concerns over safeguards in place to prevent any such event. A key safety measure that minimised damage when the missile landed near civilian property was that the missile was not armed with an explosive warhead.