Secret U.S. Missile Aims to Kill Only Terrorists, Not Nearby Civilians

Wall Street Journal ^ | May 9, 2019 8:03 a.m. ET | Gordon Lubold and Warren P. Strobel

[reaganaut1]

WASHINGTON—The U.S. government has developed a specially designed, secret missile for pinpoint airstrikes that kill terrorist leaders with no explosion, drastically reducing damage and minimizing the chances of civilian casualties, multiple current and former U.S. officials said.

Both the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon have used the weapon while closely guarding its existence. A modified version of the well-known Hellfire missile, the weapon carries an inert warhead. Instead of exploding, it is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal through the tops of cars and buildings to kill its target without harming individuals and property close by.

To the targeted person, it is as if a speeding anvil fell from the sky, the officials said. But this variant of the Hellfire missile, designated as the R9X, also comes equipped with a different kind of payload: a halo of six long blades that are stowed inside and then deploy through the skin of the missile seconds before impact, shredding anything in its tracks.

Details about the secret weapon and its deployment were confirmed by more than a dozen current and former U.S. officials. Its development and use haven’t been previously disclosed, though its existence has been the subject of speculation.

The R9X is known colloquially to the small community of individuals who are familiar with its use as “the flying Ginsu,” for the blades that can cut through buildings, car roofs or other targets. 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. The weapon has also been referred to as the Ninja bomb.

The missile was born of an emphasis, under former President Obama, on avoiding civilian deaths in long U.S. campaign of airstrikes

[Demanwideplan]

I say BS. With our military and technology, the very first target we eliminate is the political leadership of the country we are at war with. Once it is understood what we are willing to do, you can bet your last dollar there will be more diplomacy! We have to remove the war profiteers as well.

[schurmann]

“I say BS. With our military and technology, the very first target we eliminate is the political leadership of the country we are at war with. Once it is understood what we are willing to do, you can bet your last dollar there will be more diplomacy! We have to remove the war profiteers as well.” [Demanwideplan, post 71]

Not bad ideas, as general strategy is reckoned. Can’t disagree with the notion that willpower is lacking, among high-level officials, here and among allies.

Trouble is, the military is constrained by public law, executive branch policies, and the entire structure of DoD instructions and regulations.

Targeting of national-level leaders is contrary to law and policy. The military is not free to ignore this.

Without the military-industrial complex, we’d be back to throwing rocks in nothing flat. Not even smoothbores firing round balls can be supported. And things have changed a little since the 1780s.

Better that the war profiteers get their cut, than an entire generation is wiped out. Assuming we could even win that way.