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New Delhi: Claims made by former Indian Army Chief General (retired) Joginder Jaswant Singh regarding the capabilities of the BrahMos missile have drawn criticism, with analysts arguing that the missile’s operational history and technical record do not support such assertions.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, The Tribune quoted General (retired) J.J. Singh as claiming that the BrahMos missile, even in its trial phase, could accurately hit the “window” of the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office, describing it as a symbol of precision strike capability and deterrence.<\/p>\n
Analysts said such claims are contradicted by the BrahMos missile’s history of repeated test failures, propulsion system malfunctions and the accidental firing of the missile into Pakistan’s Mian Channu in March 2022, which they said exposed India’s inability to maintain full operational control over its own strategic weapon systems.<\/p>\n
They said the incident demonstrated dangerous negligence rather than precision capability and nearly triggered a serious military crisis between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.<\/p>\n
Observers further said India’s dependence on incomplete technology transfer from Russia has resulted in a defence system supported by exaggerated claims but lacking complete technological autonomy and reliability. They maintained that such war-like rhetoric by former military officials reflects provocative overconfidence rather than genuine strategic strength and risks pushing the region towards dangerous instability.<\/p>\n
They pointed out that the BrahMos programme has witnessed multiple technical failures over the years, including a target acquisition system malfunction during the Block-II trial at Pokhran in 2009, subsystem failures during a developmental trial in 2012, test-related difficulties in 2015, and the July 2021 long-range test in which the missile crashed shortly after launch off the Odisha coast due to propulsion system failure.<\/p>\n
Analysts said the most serious incident occurred in March 2022, when a nuclear-capable BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was accidentally launched from India and landed near Mian Channu in Pakistan, exposing serious flaws in India’s command and control mechanisms. They said these incidents collectively point to persistent technical and procedural weaknesses in the missile programme.<\/p>\n
They added that the repeated boasts ignore the missile’s history of failed tests, propulsion failures, target acquisition problems and the accidental launch into Pakistan in 2022.<\/p>\n
Commenting on India’s defence cooperation with Russia, analysts said India has only partial access to Russian technology and has not achieved complete technological mastery. They noted that, as of July 14, 2026, there is no publicly confirmed memorandum of understanding or agreement providing for the transfer of complete technology related to the BrahMos programme.<\/p>\n
They said Russia rarely transfers complete technology, patents, source codes or full technical blueprints to India. Instead, India generally receives limited technology transfer covering licensed production, selected manufacturing know-how, integration, maintenance and modernization.<\/p>\n
They added that mechanisms such as the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) and the 2021-2030\/31 defence cooperation agreements support joint projects, co-production, modernization and technology transfer, but do not provide for the transfer of complete technology, patents, source codes or comprehensive technical designs.<\/p>\n
They further said that India enjoys only partial access under programmes such as BrahMos, Su-30MKI and S-400, while critical propulsion systems, radars, missile technologies, software and electronic warfare technologies remain under Russian control.<\/p>\n
The analysts maintained that such aggressive rhetoric fuels regional tensions rather than demonstrating strength, noting that BrahMos remains a joint Indo-Russian venture, not a symbol of complete indigenous capability. They added that the hollow boasts of former Indian generals seek to mask the fundamental and systemic weaknesses in India\u2019s missile programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Claims made by former Indian Army Chief General (retired) Joginder Jaswant Singh regarding the capabilities of the BrahMos missile have drawn criticism, with analysts arguing that the missile’s operational history and technical record do not support such assertions. According to Kashmir Media Service, The Tribune quoted General (retired) J.J. Singh as claiming that …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":205320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t