The "Ninja bomb" targets terrorists, while sparing civilians (Image: GETTY)
The drone-deployed R9X, which is also known as the Flying Ginsu, a reference to a razor-sharp knife used by chefs, is a modified version of the Hellfire missile, which has been used to target terrorists with precision strikes. However, rather than exploding, the weapon, which has been nicknamed the Ninja Bomb, uses sheer force to kill its target, and has been compared to a speeding anvil falling from the sky. What makes it particularly lethal is the six long blades it is fitted with, which extend outwards just prior to impact, cutting anything close by to ribbons - including metal.
Development of the R9X began in 2011 during Barack Obama’s Presidency in a bid to cut the number of innocent casualties as the US targeted terrorist groups including ISIS, which has in the past used non-combatants as human shields.
Conventional weapons such as hellfire missiles explode, resulting in a deadly blast radius and turning objects into shrapnel.
As such, they are useful for the destruction of vehicles and other material, or against large numbers of enemy fighters gathered in a small area.
By contrast, the R9X can be used for targeting individuals.
Normal Hellfire missiles explode on impact (Image: GETTY)
For the express purpose of reducing civilian casualties
CIA official
One CIA official said it was “for the express purpose of reducing civilian casualties.”
The US
