904: India Missile Misfire: How Can an Accident Like This Happen?

<div>In an extremely rare incident, India on 9 March "accidentally" fired a missile into Pakistan airspace, raising questions immediately about the safety mechanisms of such armament.<br> <br> </div> <div>India, in its statement on 11 March, expressed “deep regret” over the incident and said that a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”. This statement, however, came 2 days after the incident and a day after a statement from Pakistan’s Major General Babar Iftikhar. The Pakistani statement read that such “irresponsible incidents” reflected India’s “disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability”.<br> <br> Neither country has so far spelt out what kind of missile was used. The missile in question travelled a total of 200 kms, with 124 kms of that in Pakistani airspace at an altitude of 40,000 feet and at a speed of 2.5 to 3 times the speed of sound. Based on this information, experts speculate that the missile is probably BrahMos, one of India’s top cruise missiles.<br> <br> </div> <div>Fortunately, the missile was not armed and did not cause any casualties. But a lot of us must be thinking the same question – how can an accident like this happen? What is the protocol when incidents like this take place?<br> <br> </div> <div>To help answer these questions, we spoke to Kartik Bommakanti, a fellow at Observer Research Foundation specialising in space military issues.<br> <br> <strong>Host and Producer: </strong>Himmat Shaligram</div> <div> <strong>Editor:</strong> Shorbori Purkayastha</div> <div><br> </div> <div> <strong>Music:</strong> Big Bang Fuzz</div> <div><br> </div> <div><strong>Listen to The Big Story podcast on:</strong></div> <div><br> </div> <div>Apple: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.co%2F2AYdLIl&amp;redir_token=G9sQMbbppKv-LEFD29gDyTmPMzt8MTU3MTM4MDU5NkAxNTcxMjk0MTk2&amp;v=xkpX1V6aUFo&amp;event=video_description">https://apple.co/2AYdLIl</a> </div> <div>Saavn: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2