NEW DEHLI: Three officers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were sacked on Tuesday for the March 9 accidental firing of a Brahmos missile that landed in Pakistan. The weapon, jointly developed by India and Russia, is projected as the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, air, sea and undersea platforms.

An official statement said the services of the officers were terminated after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by them led to the accidental firing of the missile.

Though IAF did not mention the ranks and names of the officials whose services have been terminated, it is learnt that a Group Captain is among the three, according to PTI.

On March 11, the Defence Ministry said the accident was caused by a technical malfunction in the course of the routine maintenance of the missile, adding the government has taken a serious view of the incident.

Following the incident, Pakistan summoned India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad and conveyed its strong protest over the "unprovoked" violation of its airspace by the supersonic "projectile" of Indian origin.