Hellfire missile

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by the US forces in a drone strike in Afghanistan capital Kabul. Announcing his death in a televised address, ...

The R9X variant of Hellfire is used only in specific circumstances, particularly when a terrorist leader has been pinpointed. However, pictures from the Kabul home where Zawahiri was living showed no signs of an explosion, pointing to the use again by the US of the macabre Hellfire R9X. A senior official in the Biden administration was quoted as saying by news agency AFP that Zawahiri was on the balcony of a house in Kabul when he was targeted with two Hellfire missiles, an hour after sunrise on July 31.

Existence of the unique missile, officially dubbed the Hellfire R9X, was first revealed in 2019.

Zawahiri was also allegedly a plotter behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Drone strikes conducted by the U.S. have been controversial for decades. But in this case the missile was used to hit Zawahiri while he was out on his balcony. No one else was killed, according to the U.S. government, though that claim has yet to have been confirmed locally by the Taliban, which currently runs Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal last year. A wide 90° oscillation distributes air throughout the room at a velocity of 24' per second. The R9X is supposedly better at avoiding collateral damage than a typical Hellfire missile since it doesn’t explode, and kills using pure kinetic energy.

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri died in a drone attack that did not cause an explosion, which suggests to experts that the U.S. used its favorite secret ...

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid calling it a violation of “international principles”—which may be a little rich for the terror group that has de-fingered, enslaved and beheaded hundreds of people. That has led the ballistics chattering class to presume the attack was carried out by the notorious “flying Ginsu”—which is named after the iconic super-sharp Japanese knives that were heavily advertized in the 1980s. The precision capability of the weapon means there is less chance of collateral damage.

Washington, Aug 2 (PTI) The US drone strike that killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on the balcony of a safe house in downtown Kabul points to the use ...

In the early 1990s, the US Army developed the AGM-114F to counter improved tank defences. A missile with similar capabilities was considered as a “Plan B” to kill al Qaeda leader bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that year, the report said, citing several officials. The CIA, Pentagon and Hellfire missile maker Lockheed Martin Corp. refuse to comment on it. The nickname is a reference to the popular knives sold on TV infomercials in the late 1970s and early 1980s that showed them cutting through both tree branches and tomatoes. And one week ago, after being advised that the conditions were optimal, I gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission was a success. The Hellfire missiles have several variants, depending on their warhead, guidance system, and physical variations.

The US military used its 'secret weapon' — the Hellfire R9X missile – to kill Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on the balcony of a safehouse in Kabul on ...

Hellfire is actually an acronym for Heliborne, Laser, Fire and Forget Missile and it was developed in the US initially to target tanks from the Apache AH-64 attack helicopters. For several years now, the Hellfire family of missiles, including the ‘Ninja Missile’, are armed on Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones that the US Military uses in offensive military operations around the world. Also known as the ‘Ninja Missile’, this weapon does not carry a warhead and instead deploys razor-sharp blades at the terminal stage of its attack trajectory.

For killing leaders of extremist groups, it seems the Hellfire RX9 also known as a `ninja bomb' is the munition of choice for the US. On Tuesday (August 2, ...

India is in the process of finalising US $3 billion deal with General Atomics for 30 armed drones for the three services –Indian Navy, Air Force and the Indian Army. And these drones can be used for hitting the target with either missiles or bombs. There are six long blades inside the missile and are deployed through the skin of the missile just a few seconds before the impact. The US forces have fired these missiles from Humvees by their ground troops. These missiles do not explode and to avoid collateral civilian damage, these missiles are known to release knife-like blades which hit the targets with precision. Though no one will acknowledge using it publicly, the CIA or the Pentagon are the agencies that can use it to target extremist leaders. The missile used by the US, on August 2, is a warhead-less missile and it is equipped with six razors like blades.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed Monday by America's secretive and gruesome R9X Hellfire missile — which is also known as the "flying Ginsu."

Some have even suggested the weapon — which originated during the Cold War as an anti-tank missile designed to be fired from a helicopter — could kill the passenger of a car without harming the driver. One US official described the weapon to the Wall Street Journal as a “speeding anvil” falling from the sky — with knives. The strangest variant in the Hellfire family of missiles — built as a precision weapon of targeted assassination — the R9X’s most distinguishing characteristic is that it doesn’t explode and simply uses its weight, momentum and blade-like appendages to kill.

Two Hellfire missiles fired from a drone killed the leader of al Qaeda, causing surprisingly little damage beyond the target, suggesting they may be a ...

It is largely aimed at individual targets, such as militants in Syria. The agency declined to comment. U.S. officials said the CIA was responsible for the strike.

The US President Joe Biden on Monday confirmed that a US drone missile strike conducted by the CIA had killed Al Qaeda chief and key plotter of the 9/11 ...

His whereabouts were a mystery for several years, but he was believed to be hiding along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He served three years as a surgeon in the Egyptian Army, but his journey from an eye surgeon to becoming a most wanted global terrorist started after he met Laden in 1986, and joined Laden as his personal advisor and physician. As per several media reports, the reason behind the development of the Hellfire R9X missile was to minimize civilian deaths and it came into existence when former president Barack Obama was in office.

The missiles were launched by an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, killing him instantly.

The roof was blown open on the right side of the vehicle. The senior administration official who briefed reporters said the strike only killed al-Zawahiri, avoiding civilian casualties and that the strike did not completely destroy the safehouse where al-Zawahiri was hiding with his family. The White House has not shared details about the type of Hellfire missiles used.

Hellfire R9X missile: Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a US strike last weekend, President Joe Biden announced. The US military used its 'secret weapon', ...

Hellfire is actually an acronym for Heliborne, Laser, Fire and Forget Missile and it was developed in the US initially to target tanks from the Apache AH-64 attack helicopters. For several years now, the Hellfire family of missiles, including the ‘Ninja Missile’, are armed on Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones that the US Military uses in offensive military operations around the world. It has also been used against Taliban targets in Afghanistan in 2020 and again in 2022. Also known as the ‘Ninja Missile’, this weapon does not carry a warhead and instead deploys razor-sharp blades at the terminal stage of its attack trajectory. It is a variant of the original Hellfire missile family which is used in conventional form with warheads and is traditionally used from helicopters, ground-based vehicles, and sometimes small ships and fast moving vessels. The Hellfire 9RX missile is known to have been in active service since 2017.

Last weekend, the US did just that — killing al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri with a CIA drone strike. Other high-profile airstrikes in the past had ...

That missile is a very accurate weapon that strikes in a very small area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism operations. “One of their utilities is in opening up vehicles and other obstructions to get to the target without having to use an explosive warhead,” he said.Avoiding civilian casualties Less than a year ago, a US drone strike — using a more conventional Hellfire missile — struck a white Toyota Corolla sedan in a Kabul neighborhood and killed 10 civilians around and near the car, including seven children. Unlike other models of the Hellfire, the R9X doesn’t carry an explosive payload. More than 100,000 Hellfire missiles have been sold to the US and other countries, according to Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. The US had multiple options for the attack.

Speculation has grown that the U.S. used a highly secretive Hellfire missile nicknamed the 'knife bomb' to kill Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri.

That missile is a very accurate weapon that strikes in a very small area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss counter-terrorism operations. As a result, the U.S. so far has not provided Hellfire missiles or drones that could fire them. Less than a year ago, a U.S. drone strike using a more conventional Hellfire missile struck a white Toyota Corolla sedan in a Kabul neighborhood and killed 10 civilians around and near the car, including seven children. More than 100,000 Hellfire missiles have been sold to the U.S. and other countries, according to Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. As U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, efforts against a diminished Al Qaeda are in flux. In this case, the CIA opted for a drone strike. Unlike other models of the Hellfire, the R9X doesn’t carry an explosive payload. The U.S. had multiple options for the attack. For a year, U.S. officials have been saying that taking out a terrorist threat in Afghanistan with no American troops on the ground would be difficult but not impossible. Although officials have not publicly confirmed which variant of the Hellfire was used, experts and others familiar with counter-terrorism operations said a likely option was the highly secretive Hellfire R9X — known by various nicknames, including the “knife bomb” or the “flying Ginsu.” “One of their utilities is in opening up vehicles and other obstructions to get to the target without having to use an explosive warhead,” he said. Other high-profile airstrikes in the past had inadvertently killed innocent civilians.

CIA's choice of weapon meant that the collateral damage from the attack was minimal. The weapon did its work flawlessly.

The public backlash over these actions may have had a part to play in the selection of the weapon for this strike. Images released on social media allege that the Al Qaeda leader was killed on the balcony of the building. Its mode of action has earned the weapon nicknames like the flying Ginsu, knife bomb, and Ninja bomb. However, images of the attack site shared on social media show no signs of the massive damage that these missiles are capable of. The missile does not use an explosive warhead but works purely on kinetic energy to do its damage. Its existence was shrouded in secrecy till a 2019 Wall Street Journal report brought it into the public domain.

U.S. officials have said taking out a terrorist threat in Afghanistan with no American troops on the ground would be difficult but not impossible.

That missile is a very accurate weapon that strikes in a very small area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism operations. As a result, the U.S. so far has not provided Hellfire missiles or drones that could fire them. Less than a year ago, a U.S. drone strike — using a more conventional Hellfire missile — struck a white Toyota Corolla sedan in a Kabul neighborhood and killed 10 civilians around and near the car, including seven children. More than 100,000 Hellfire missiles have been sold to the U.S. and other countries, according to Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. In this case, the CIA opted for a drone strike. Unlike other models of the Hellfire, the R9X doesn’t carry an explosive payload. The U.S. had multiple options for the attack. Although U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed which variant of the Hellfire was used, experts and others familiar with counterterrorism operations said a likely option was the highly secretive Hellfire R9X — know by various nicknames, including the “knife bomb” or the “flying Ginsu.” Last weekend, the U.S. did just that — killing al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri with a CIA drone strike. “One of their utilities is in opening up vehicles and other obstructions to get to the target without having to use an explosive warhead,” he said. It was, military leaders said, a “tragic mistake” Other high-profile airstrikes in the past had inadvertently killed innocent civilians.

On 2 August, the US killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan, using a Hellfire R9X missile fired by a drone.

The aim of the Hellfire R9X is to minimize civilian deaths, and reportedly, it was pressed into action when the former US president Barack Obama was in office. Designed to be launched from an unmanned drone (or even a helicopter), the Hellfire R9X is a ‘kinetic kill’ missile or projectile. On 2 August, the US killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan, using a Hellfire R9X missile fired by a drone. It does not use any explosive warhead, and hence causes minimum collateral damage. On 2 August, the US killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Afghanistan, using a Hellfire R9X missile fired by a drone. It does not use any explosive warhead, and hence causes minimum collateral damage.