Stressing that Indian missile systems are “safe, secure and reliable”, defence minister Rajnath Singh said the standard operating procedures for their “operations, maintenance and inspections” are being reviewed after the accidental firing of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that crashed 124-km inside Pakistan on March 9.
With Singh significantly not referring to any “technical malfunction”, and coupled with the emphasis on the review of the SOPs, its evident “human error” led to the accidental launch of the 290-km range missile that could have triggered a conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Stating the government had taken “serious note” of the “inadvertent release of a missile”, Singh said the ongoing high-level inquiry would determine the exact cause of the accident.
