Missile Firing Error Due To 'Failure' To Comply With Safety Rules, Estonia Says

Library image of Spanish Eurofighter Typhoons (Picture: US Marine Corps).

The pilot of a Spanish Air Force fighter jet on a NATO air exercise last year mistakenly fired an air-to-air missile because of a "failure to comply with the safety rules", Estonia has said.

The Estonian defence ministry ruled out "a systematic error" and said the AMRAAM-type air-to-air missile posed no threat nor caused any injuries.

It said existing regulations and rules already in place were sufficient.

Estonia ordered a temporary halt to NATO air exercises in the Baltic country after the incident on 7 August.

The unrecovered missile carried up to 10kg (22lbs) of explosives and was last located around 40 kilometres (24 miles) north of Estonia's second city Tartu.

It has a built-in self-destruct for such accidents but may have landed.