On 9 March 2022, an unarmed BrahMos missile left its launcher from an Indian Air Force (IAF) base near Sirsa in Haryana. The supersonic missile’s journey lasted about seven minutes through a few waypoints in India, before crossing the border and ending on the boundary wall of a small house in Mia Chunnu in neighboring Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Missile firings, even in the most developed countries wielding mature technologies, are not without failures. For example, six out of the first 21 launches of Pershing-II medium-range ballistic missiles encountered technical failures and misfires, as per Pentagon reports. There have been many documented cases when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war and ‘mutually assured destruction due to accidental launches or false detection of such launches from an adversary.
Too Serious to Be Taken Lightly
The BrahMos launch in question is, however, far more serious. It is the first recorded case in history where a cruise missile was accidentally launched from inside one country into a rival’s territory — in this case, both hostile neighbors with a history of wars and unsettled borders. It is the acme of incompetence, defused with nuanced handling devoid of knee-jerk reactions from either side. Pakistan bristled and fumed with understandable angst. But, thankfully, there was no retaliation. Perhaps they found solace in Hanlon’s Razor “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”.
Either way, the incident was too serious to be passed off as a ‘technical malfunction’ during ‘routine maintenance, which the Indian Defence Ministry did try to do, pending a high-level Court of Inquiry (CoI). The inquiry and administrative process culminated this month in just over five months with the dismissal of three officers from service (one Group Captain, presumably the CO of the missile unit, a Wing Cdr, and one Sqn Ldr).
Legality of CoI to Recommend Punishment
The speed of inquiry and the gravity of the sentence may seem appropriate but it raises questions of jurisprudence and the legality of inquiry committees. What the Navy calls ‘The Board of Inquiry (BoI), the Air Force knows as the Court of Inquiry (CoI). To the best of my knowledge, the CoI is a fact-finding exercise. There are only witnesses, evidence, appendices, and exhibits in a CoI no ‘accused’ or ‘convicts’. The CoI or BoI may attribute blame, but it has no power to sentence; that power rests with a General Court Martial (GCM). The CoI report is reviewed, vetted, and approved at several levels, including the command and service headquarters.
The government’s dismissal of personnel named by the CoI is exceptional, to my mind. One hopes the terminated officers were given a chance to defend themselves. All commissioned officers serve with the pleasure of the President of India. Such privilege can be withdrawn in the case of grave misconduct, but only after due process of law.
Unanswered Questions
Cruise missiles have several layers of mechanical and electronic interlocks that preclude accidental launches. The launch event cannot be activated by a single person SOPs simply preclude that. The BrahMos did not misfire; it was accidentally fired. That means it cleared the entire sequence of interlocks and safeguards, involving more than one operator.
