On 9 March, an Indian missile ‘accidentally’ launched and landed in Pakistan. Although it did not cause serious damage, such an incident involving hostile nuclear-armed neighbors is the stuff of military nightmares. The Defense Ministry has said that it is conducting a high-level inquiry but Pakistan wants a joint investigation
A little before 7 pm on 9 March, Pakistani forces picked up a “high-speed flying object” originating inside Indian territory, which “suddenly moved towards Pakistani territory”. The missile was not shot down, but crashed on its own 120 km within Pakistani territory, destroying some civilian property.
On 11 March, India said it was “relieved that no one died as a result of the accident”, which it termed as “deeply regrettable” and the result of a “technical fault”.
India did not name the missile but analysts have concluded it was a missile brahmos supersonic missile. Developed jointly with Russia, it is considered to be one of the most advanced missiles of its class and also the fastest. More importantly, it has a border that covers most of the Pakistani cities.
Defense ministry sources said the missile was accidentally fired during a training and maintenance exercise near an IAF base in north India where, incidentally, an audit was underway by the IAF’s Directorate of Air Staff Inspection.
Sources said the accidental launch took place despite “multiple mechanical and electronic locks” built into the BrahMos missiles, which were “probably bypassed by mistake”.
Why is this a big deal?
A senior defense source said it “definitely needs to roll the heads over this incident” as it “could have led to a catastrophic conflict” between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. This is because even if the missile was without a warhead, Pakistani officials would have no way of knowing. Its movement would have told them what kind of missile it was and could have given the impression that India had fired a nuclear weapon towards it. This could have prompted Pakistan to launch its own nuclear weapons towards India to play out the nuclear end game known as “mutually assured destruction”.
Was it a ‘nuclear missile’?
The missile launched in Pakistan was of non-nuclear configuration. However, it could have been a nuclear-capable missile, in which case it could not be unarmed. Since nuclear weapons are a deterrent, they usually need to be kept ready for deployment at the first sign of attack.
But who controls India’s nuclear weapons, and what happens in case of an unexpected launch? There is some clarity on this.
India has been officially a nuclear weapon state since 1998, and a Cabinet committee on Security The (CCS) 2003 note set out India’s “no first use” policy on nuclear, meaning that such weapons would be used only in retaliation against a nuclear attack, and the response would have to be authorized by the political leadership. nuclear command authority ,NEC,
The Political Council of the NCA, headed by the Prime Minister, is “the only body that can authorize the use of nuclear weapons”. Its decisions are based on inputs provided by the Executive Council of the NCA, which is headed by the National Security Advisor. The Executive Council also executes the directions of the Political Council.
Can an aerial missile destroy itself?
India and Pakistan had about 7 minutes to react till the missile completed its trajectory. Pakistan claimed to have tracked him, but his air defense systems did not shoot him down, while India failed to intercept his flight. Experts say that conventional missiles like BrahMos do not have a “self-destruct mechanism”, although tactical or nuclear missiles such as Agni and Earth There is said to be a kill switch. India and Pakistan signed an agreement in 2005 to provide each other advance information for any flight test of “any land or sea-launched surface-to-surface ballistic missile”, but Pakistan said it was not informed about any such exercise in March. 9. Indian authorities also did not issue any warning to air or sea traffic about any targeted launch.
There are many close shavers in a world with bad computer chips and incorrect launch assessments to believe that nuclear-related accidents can be safely ruled out. Indeed, given the extremely short reaction times and the high stakes involved, experts warn that nuclear war may be just a loose trigger away.
A little before 7 pm on 9 March, Pakistani forces picked up a “high-speed flying object” originating inside Indian territory, which “suddenly moved towards Pakistani territory”. The missile was not shot down, but crashed on its own 120 km within Pakistani territory, destroying some civilian property.
On 11 March, India said it was “relieved that no one died as a result of the accident”, which it termed as “deeply regrettable” and the result of a “technical fault”.
India did not name the missile but analysts have concluded it was a missile brahmos supersonic missile. Developed jointly with Russia, it is considered to be one of the most advanced missiles of its class and also the fastest. More importantly, it has a border that covers most of the Pakistani cities.
Defense ministry sources said the missile was accidentally fired during a training and maintenance exercise near an IAF base in north India where, incidentally, an audit was underway by the IAF’s Directorate of Air Staff Inspection.
Sources said the accidental launch took place despite “multiple mechanical and electronic locks” built into the BrahMos missiles, which were “probably bypassed by mistake”.
Why is this a big deal?
A senior defense source said it “definitely needs to roll the heads over this incident” as it “could have led to a catastrophic conflict” between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. This is because even if the missile was without a warhead, Pakistani officials would have no way of knowing. Its movement would have told them what kind of missile it was and could have given the impression that India had fired a nuclear weapon towards it. This could have prompted Pakistan to launch its own nuclear weapons towards India to play out the nuclear end game known as “mutually assured destruction”.
Was it a ‘nuclear missile’?
The missile launched in Pakistan was of non-nuclear configuration. However, it could have been a nuclear-capable missile, in which case it could not be unarmed. Since nuclear weapons are a deterrent, they usually need to be kept ready for deployment at the first sign of attack.
But who controls India’s nuclear weapons, and what happens in case of an unexpected launch? There is some clarity on this.
India has been officially a nuclear weapon state since 1998, and a Cabinet committee on Security The (CCS) 2003 note set out India’s “no first use” policy on nuclear, meaning that such weapons would be used only in retaliation against a nuclear attack, and the response would have to be authorized by the political leadership. nuclear command authority ,NEC,
The Political Council of the NCA, headed by the Prime Minister, is “the only body that can authorize the use of nuclear weapons”. Its decisions are based on inputs provided by the Executive Council of the NCA, which is headed by the National Security Advisor. The Executive Council also executes the directions of the Political Council.
Can an aerial missile destroy itself?
India and Pakistan had about 7 minutes to react till the missile completed its trajectory. Pakistan claimed to have tracked him, but his air defense systems did not shoot him down, while India failed to intercept his flight. Experts say that conventional missiles like BrahMos do not have a “self-destruct mechanism”, although tactical or nuclear missiles such as Agni and Earth There is said to be a kill switch. India and Pakistan signed an agreement in 2005 to provide each other advance information for any flight test of “any land or sea-launched surface-to-surface ballistic missile”, but Pakistan said it was not informed about any such exercise in March. 9. Indian authorities also did not issue any warning to air or sea traffic about any targeted launch.
There are many close shavers in a world with bad computer chips and incorrect launch assessments to believe that nuclear-related accidents can be safely ruled out. Indeed, given the extremely short reaction times and the high stakes involved, experts warn that nuclear war may be just a loose trigger away.