At the time of Operation Sindoor, the US had received intelligence that India had fired BrahMos cruise missiles within Pakistan. The US was worried that if the tension between India and Pakistan increased further, India could also impose nuclear weapons in these missiles. This information is given in a report by Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The report quoted the existing and former officials of the Trump administration as saying that American intelligence agencies considered BrahMos missiles a weapon that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. According to the report, President Donald Trump was worried that if the situation worsened, India could add atomic bombs to these missiles. At the same time, it was also feared that Pakistan could also carry out nuclear attacks in response. Due to this fear, Trump asked Vice President JD Vance and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio to talk to the leaders of India and Pakistan.
India has always stated that the BrahMos missile is only equipped with weapons. They are operated by the Indian Army’s artillery Regiment, Air Force and Navy. The missiles of India can carry nuclear weapons under control of the Strategic Force Command (SFC). Traditional explosives of 200 to 300 kg can be installed in the BrahMos missile. This missile can attack a very accurate and high -speed attack.
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According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump’s concern was that tension between India and Pakistan would not become a nuclear war. The White House felt that the situation was so serious that the US had to interfere directly. The report quoted a White House official as saying that Trump tried to avoid this crisis by talking to both India and Pakistan leaders using his personal relations. However, the officer did not say whether fear was born from the use of BrahMos or not.
When the Wall Street Journal questioned the Indian Embassy in Washington about this, the officials there said that India runs on the ‘no first use’, that is, the policy of not taking a nuclear attack first. Therefore, the use of BrahMos missile should not have feared nuclear war. The report also reported that during a conflict with Pakistan in early May, India attacked several important Pakistani military bases from BrahMos missiles. These included Air Force runways, bunkers and hangers.
The BrahMos missile is made up of the names of the Brahmaputra River of India and the Moskwa River of Russia. It is the only supersonic cruise missile in the world that is in operational service and can fly at a speed of about 3450 kmph.
The missile was developed by India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPO Machiosroenia under the strategic partnership that began in 1998. It is now being produced in India itself and is used for different tasks such as attacking enemy ships in the Navy, Air Force and Army, targeting land and doing coastal protection.
The flying portion of BrahMos can go up to 15 kilometers, while in the final stages it fly just 10 meters above the ground or sea surface, which makes it very difficult to stop. It consists of two engines – in the first stage the solid fuel booster speeds the missile, then the ramjet engine works in the cruise phase. It works on the ‘Fire and Forgate’ system, that is, no guidelines are required after staining it. It can change the direction very fast and is capable of dodging the radar.