An Indian unidentified missile landed 124 Km inside Pakistan on 9 March 2022 at around 1850 hrs after it got accidentally fired (as per the statement issued by Indian ministry of defence) during routine maintenance. A brief statement has been issued by the Indian ministry of defence on 11 Mar 2022 ( i.e two days after the incidence). The statement attributed the cause of the accidental firing of the missile to a technical malfunctioning, however a high level court of enquiry has been ordered to further probe into the incident. Interestingly India did not name the missile that was fired accidentally; officials said it could have been the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile without a warhead

Many questions are being asked around the world regarding the actual nature and intentions of this incident which had the potential to escalate inadvertently into a military crisis between two nuclear armed states. Policy planners on both sides of the border will have long hours to deliberate on this incident and advise respective governments on the future course of action.

Though Indian ministry of defence recognised the incident as regrettable however it expressed sigh of relief that there has been no loss of life. Of course there has been no loss of life but there has been loss of confidence and trust on Indian technological prowess and maintenance protocols of such highly sensitive missile systems. India is producing and maintaining a large inventory of missiles of varying ranges armed with both nuclear and conventional warheads which have been deployed on ground, air and sea platforms all across the country in diverse terrain and difficult operational conditions. An accident of this nature is a serious wakeup call not only for Indian policy makers but for every one around the globe concerned about safety and security of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.

India has to seriously review quality control of its   indigenous production and ensure fail safe storage and maintenance procedures of its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems. It may take some time for the Indian defence industry to identify and fix the problem and there seems to be no hurry. India has been facing similar malfunctioning problems in its various indigenously developed weapons systems and has learnt to live with them, tucking them under the carpet. The Indian military establishment has learnt to digest such anomalies under the dominant political pressure; however, there is a greater risk for others interested to import these weapons systems. 

India has recently signed a contract of US$ 375 million with the Philippines Department of National Defence (DND) to supply its BrahMos missiles to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP’s) to improve their anti-access and area-denial capabilities. Philippines department of defence needs to review its contract with India in light of the recent accident before it is too late. At least a high standard quality assurance certification may be demanded before finalizing the deal.  Philippines can also refer the case to international body for review of the technological capability and reliability of the missile systems. In this case Missile technology control regime (MTCR) in place to restrict the export of long range missile systems may help control the export of substandard missile systems to other countries with technological issues.