BrahMos can’t be mistaken for nuclear-tipped missile

News: There has been an accidental launch of supersonic Brahmos cruise missile from India into Pakistani territory

India’s Response

Read – The Issue of Accidental Indian missile drop in Pakistan

India officially admitted that “in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”.

India has ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry (Inquiry). It said “While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident.”

Pakistan’s Response

Islamabad has criticised Indian “security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearized environment”. It wants India to explain its procedures to prevent accidental missile launches and the particular circumstances of this incident.

Read – The Issue of Accidental Indian missile drop in Pakistan

Why is Pakistan’s argument that India has launched a Strategic nuclear weapon is incorrect?

First, as per India’s nuclear launch posture, the strategic weapons (commonly referred to as “nukes” or nuclear-tipped missiles) are invariably delivered via ballistic missiles, never via cruise missile. It was a cruise missile (named Brahmos). Therefore, it was not a strategic nuclear weapon.

Second, the cruise missile had been launched from near Sirsa, which is home to a major air force base, not from any Army Brahmos units, which are related to the strike corps.

Thirdly, launch of a strategic, nuclear-tipped ballistic missile require a two-person launch protocol, whereas, the Brahmos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) was launched from a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter.

Source: The post is based on an article “BrahMos can’t be mistaken for nuclear tipped missile” published in the Business Standard on 15^th march 2022