By James Pero For Dailymail.com
Published: 23:23 BST, 9 May 2019 | Updated: 23:28 BST, 9 May 2019
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A report from the Wall Street Journal has revealed the US is using a new type of dive-bombing 'missile' that kills targets without exploding.
The weapon called the R9X, or the 'flying Ginsu,' is designed to crush targets by dropping through buildings and cars with the help of a six large blades that deploy seconds before impact.
According to the report, the goal of the weapon is to reduce unintended casualties caused by other more standard missiles that typically detonate and engulf both targets and their surroundings.
Hellfire missiles may be effective, but they often endanger innocent bystanders. A new weapon, however, dive-bombs using six blades to precision-target attacks
The R9X or 'flying Ginsu' is a weapon developed by the US military to precision-target individuals.
Unlike traditional missiles, they don't explode, but rather dive-bomb through buildings and cars to crush their targets.
They also use six large blades that deploy seconds before impact to slice through anything that might stand in their way.
By reducing the footprint of attacks the military hope to cut down on civilian casualties often caused by explosives.
The aptly named Hellfire missile in particular has been deployed by US drones and carry with it large blast area that scorches targets and their surroundings.
As reported by Gizmodo, journalists have speculated about the military's use of a new weapon since 2017 when photos were released of Al Qaeda’s Abu Khayr al Masri who seemed to have been killed inside of a car that contained a large puncture in the roof.
Journalists noted at the time that the vehicle was surprisingly in tact.
According to the report, which is based on interviews with more than a dozen accounts from current and former government officials, the weapon was born partially of the desire by former U.S. President Barack Obama to avoid civilian casualties caused in particular by airstrikes from the CIA's drone program.
Data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, who has been cataloging the effects of US drone strikes abroad since 2004, in the last 15 years drone strikes have killed between 769 to 1725 civilians with 253 to 397 of them being children.
Outside of the clear human impact, the Wall Street Journal reports that the US military is also interested in the new weapon technology for more practical reasons.
Fighters have begun to adapt to drone attacks by hiding out in areas populated by children and women, putting them ostensibly out of reach from traditional airstrikes.
The Ginsu carries with it a set of more technical pros and cons, say officials in the Journal's report.
Because it greatly minimizes the risk of civilian casualties entailed in
