During the recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan, referred to as Operation Sindoor, United States intelligence received alarming indications that India had launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles against critical military targets inside Pakistan.

According to a detailed report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), this development triggered serious apprehension within the Trump administration, particularly over the missile’s potential nuclear capability.

The WSJ report, citing several current and former officials from Trump’s tenure, reveals that U.S. intelligence considered the BrahMos—developed collaboratively by India and Russia—as capable of being armed with a nuclear warhead, even though India staunchly maintains that it is strictly a conventionally armed system.

The core of these fears hinged on the possibility of escalation. President Trump reportedly worried that should the crisis intensify beyond control, either side—India or Pakistan—might resort to using nuclear arms. U.S. officials described Trump as keenly aware of the grave risks, prompting him to encourage rapid intervention by personally leveraging diplomatic channels.

Both his top national security advisor Vance and then–Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged directly with their counterparts in New Delhi and Islamabad. The administration sought to stem any slide toward nuclear brinkmanship, particularly as Pakistani retaliation was a looming threat if nukes entered the fray.

Nonetheless, there was refusal on the White House’s part to specify to the WSJ whether Trump’s concerns were prompted exclusively by the deployment of BrahMos itself.

From India’s side, officials reiterated that its BrahMos missile—while a central pillar of its tactical strike capability—remains outside the purview of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), the tri-service authority charged with control and deployment of India’s nuclear arsenal.

The SFC oversees all nuclear-capable assets to maintain a credible deterrence posture, but BrahMos is not listed in its inventory. Furthermore, Indian diplomatic representatives in Washington underscored that the country continues to abide by its official “No First Use” nuclear doctrine. By their position, the operational use of the BrahMos, which only carries a conventional warhead, shouldn’t logically escalate fears of a nuclear exchange.

Technically, the BrahMos is regarded as a highly precise, all-weather, non-nuclear tactical weapon. It can be equipped with a conventional warhead weighing between 200 and 300 kilograms, intended for high-value targets with significant destructive effect.

During the hostilities in early May, Indian forces reportedly fired multiple BrahMos missiles at strategically vital Pakistani assets, such as air force runways, fortified bunkers, and hangars, demonstrating the weapon’s versatility and devastating potential in conventional warfare.

The BrahMos missile holds unique status as the only supersonic cruise missile currently in operational service worldwide, with operational variants integrated into the Indian Army (Artillery Regiment), Air Force, and Navy. Its speeds can reach up to Mach 2.8 (roughly 3,450 kmph), making it one of the fastest missiles in its class.

Developed through the partnership between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya, the BrahMos missile system was initiated in 1998 and has since evolved to include several advanced variants. Manufactured domestically, the missile has been adapted for multiple mission profiles—land-attack, anti-ship, and coastal defence—further entrenching its role in India’s deterrence and quick-strike philosophy.

The BrahMos missile is designed with a two-stage propulsion mechanism: its solid-propellant rocket booster quickly accelerates it past the sound barrier, after which a ramjet engine (liquid fuel) propels it at sustained supersonic speed during cruise. The system is highly resistant to interception due to its ability to cruise as high as 15 km and, during its terminal phase, flatten out to just 10 metres above ground or sea surface, thereby evading most conventional air defence radars.

Additionally, BrahMos is lauded for its “fire-and-forget” feature—after launch, it requires no external guidance, reducing vulnerability to jamming and ensuring high accuracy against pre-designated targets. Its high maneuverability and radar-evading flight profile further enhance survivability and penetration capacity, making it a formidable force multiplier in India’s arsenal.

While American intelligence and the Trump administration feared that the BrahMos’ deployment in a crisis could signal the possibility of nuclear escalation with Pakistan, India’s official stance, operational doctrine, and the missile’s technical specifications all point to its strictly conventional role. The episode underscores both the high-stakes complexity of South Asian security dynamics and the critical influence that perceptions of missile capabilities have on crisis management and international diplomacy.

Based On WSJ Report