Image source: topwar.ru
Recently, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, commenting on the accidental launch of a missile towards Pakistan during a hearing in the national parliament, did not look for its cause in the technical component and said about the human factor. The head of the Indian military department did not mention the technical malfunction of the missile, although earlier this version dominated the official statements of the Ministry of Defense.
Rajnath Singh stated that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Indian Armed Forces regarding missile control will be reviewed in the near future, if necessary. The statement of the head of the military department was understood by many senior officers of the Indian army and military experts as a hint at the possibility of "human error" as the main reason for the accidental launch of a missile. In other words, someone just accidentally pressed the button. It is clear that Singh did not even specify the name of the missile, not to mention more detailed information, including which type of the Indian armed forces directly launched the missile and from which range.
It is known that the launch took place on the evening of March 9, 2022 from Sirsa in Haryana or the nearest area. There was also information in the Indian press that a group of senior officers of the country's air force were going to be interrogated by the prosecutor's office regarding compliance with the rules for the storage and inspection of missiles. Singh, apparently, indicates a high probability of human error in the handling of missiles, according to one of the retired senior Indian military.
The reasoning largely confirms the version of human error hinted at by the Minister of Defense. Singh acknowledged that the accidental launch occurred around 19:00, about 21 minutes after sunset in Northern India. That is, it was already dark, and at such a time the standard maintenance of missiles by the Indian military is not carried out.
On the other hand, recognition of the fact of a technical error would entail very serious image losses. After all, India is now planning to supply BrahMos (if we are talking about its launch) to other countries, and such potential buyers of the rocket as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, South Africa and Brazil may think about buying.
Some military experts suggest that the missile could have been launched from a multi-purpose fighter of the Indian Air Force Su-30MKI. In mid-2020, the Military Airworthiness and Certification Center in Bangalore approved a preliminary permit for the production of the Su-30MKI with a reinforced airframe for the operation of the BrahMos-A anti-ship air-launched cruise missile, so that Indian aviation aircraft have similar missiles in service.
In Pakistan, in turn, the inability of the air defense forces to neutralize a missile approaching the country is no less hotly discussed. This is doubly sad if we take into account that the air defense of the Pakistan Air Force is almost entirely focused on India and has been developing over the past forty years solely from taking into account the prevention of threats and risks emanating from India. And now we see the result of many years of activity of the air defense of the Pakistan Air Force – the Indian missile was not neutralized. It turns out that this accidental launch revealed gaps in the functioning of Pakistan's air defense system, so now Islamabad needs to solve all problems with the functioning of its air defense system as soon as possible.
