3 Air force officers sacked for missile accidentally fired into Pakistan

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Aug 23: Indian Air Force on Tuesday said that three officers have been sacked for the accidental firing of a BrahMos missile into Pakistan earlier this year on March 8, 2022.

“A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on 09 March 2022. 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,” the Air Force said in a statement.

“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the Central Govt with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on 23 Aug 22,” it added.

Additionally, officials have noted that the Court of Inquiry found deviation from SOP by 3 officers led to accidental firing of Brahmos missile that landed in Pakistan, news agency PTI report said.

The missile was fired accidentally from the Indian side into an area in Pakistan earlier in March, in an incident the Defence Ministry had called “deeply regrettable” and blamed on “technical malfunction”.