“Even before the conflict the Indian economy was in trouble,” Mukherjea said, pointing to weak earnings growth and slowing momentum. Now, “we’ll have to work with expensive oil…a weak rupee, and rising interest rates.”

The damaged aircraft appear to be Lockheed Martin C-130 types, likely the MC-130J Commando II variant, valued at over $100 million, often used to infiltrate and exfiltrate troops into enemy territories for special operations.

The Artemis astronauts were approaching a key milestone in their journey to slingshot around the Moon, a historic NASA mission that will see the first woman and first person of colour perform a lunar flyby.