SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The R9X missile has no warhead, but it has blades. (Image: Nick Waters, Twitter)
'A Hellfire Missile With F***ing Swords Attached to It': Pentagon Unveils New Weapon
"This knife missile seems like something ACME Corporation would design to kill Road Runner."
May 09, 2019
The U.S. military and the CIA reportedly have a new tool in their arsenal: a bomb that doesn't explode, but deploys sword-like blades to kill or maim its human targets.
The R9X Hellfire Missile, which The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday has been used at least twice--once by the Pentagon and once by the CIA--is a new weapon that is intended to reduce civilian casualties. The missile does not have an explosive warhead, but rather uses its weight and "a halo of six long blades" that deploy before impact to shred through whatever is in its path.
"To the targeted person, it is as if a speeding anvil fell from the sky," said the newspaper, citing an official familiar with the missile.
Nick Waters, an award-winning journalist and researcher, noted that while previous suspected drone strikes by U.S. forces overseas had produced mysterious results, perhaps the R9X--"a Hellfire missile with fucking swords attached to it," he said--provided a possible explanation.
The Journal was able to identify two strikes that used the R9X.
In January 2019, Jamal al-Badawi, accused of being behind the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 in a Yemeni port, killing 17 American sailors, was killed by an R9X fired by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has acknowledged the strike, which occurred in Yemen, though not the specific munition involved.
In February 2017, Ahmad Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri, an Egyptian national who served as al Qaeda's No. 2, was killed in Syria's Idlib Province by an R9X fired by a U.S. aircraft operated by the CIA. The CIA doesn't acknowledge airstrikes it carries out.
The new missile was apparently developed to fulfill an Obama-era directive to reduce civilian casualties from the American drone war.
A U.S. official told the Journal that the bomb could, in theory, solve what the official described as "right seat, left seat" problem: killing a driver or passenger while letting the other person live.
But, as the Journal pointed out, "Two militants reportedly were killed in the February 2017 strike."
Security experts and observers were bemused at what Task and Purpose deputy editor Jared Keller called "an anvil covered in swords."
"This knife missile seems like something ACME Corporation would design to kill Road Runner," said Defense News naval warfare reporter David Larter. "The payload would either be knives or it can deploy a goofy, over-sized white-gloved hand that bops you in the head with a hammer."
The new weapon is a "kinder, gentler hellfire missile," said Aki Peritz, a professor at American University's School of International Studies. "A precision sky-anvil."
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The U.S. military and the CIA reportedly have a new tool in their arsenal: a bomb that doesn't explode, but deploys sword-like blades to kill or maim its human targets.
The R9X Hellfire Missile, which The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday has been used at least twice--once by the Pentagon and once by the CIA--is a new weapon that is intended to reduce civilian casualties. The missile does not have an explosive warhead, but rather uses its weight and "a halo of six long blades" that deploy before impact to shred through whatever is in its path.
"To the targeted person, it is as if a speeding anvil fell from the sky," said the newspaper, citing an official familiar with the missile.
Nick Waters, an award-winning journalist and researcher, noted that while previous suspected drone strikes by U.S. forces overseas had produced mysterious results, perhaps the R9X--"a Hellfire missile with fucking swords attached to it," he said--provided a possible explanation.
The Journal was able to identify two strikes that used the R9X.
In January 2019, Jamal al-Badawi, accused of being behind the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 in a Yemeni port, killing 17 American sailors, was killed by an R9X fired by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has acknowledged the strike, which occurred in Yemen, though not the specific munition involved.
In February 2017, Ahmad Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri, an Egyptian national who served as al Qaeda's No. 2, was killed in Syria's Idlib Province by an R9X fired by a U.S. aircraft operated by the CIA. The CIA doesn't acknowledge airstrikes it carries out.
The new missile was apparently developed to fulfill an Obama-era directive to reduce civilian casualties from the American drone war.
A U.S. official told the Journal that the bomb could, in theory, solve what the official described as "right seat, left seat" problem: killing a driver or passenger while letting the other person live.
But, as the Journal pointed out, "Two militants reportedly were killed in the February 2017 strike."
Security experts and observers were bemused at what Task and Purpose deputy editor Jared Keller called "an anvil covered in swords."
"This knife missile seems like something ACME Corporation would design to kill Road Runner," said Defense News naval warfare reporter David Larter. "The payload would either be knives or it can deploy a goofy, over-sized white-gloved hand that bops you in the head with a hammer."
The new weapon is a "kinder, gentler hellfire missile," said Aki Peritz, a professor at American University's School of International Studies. "A precision sky-anvil."
The U.S. military and the CIA reportedly have a new tool in their arsenal: a bomb that doesn't explode, but deploys sword-like blades to kill or maim its human targets.
The R9X Hellfire Missile, which The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday has been used at least twice--once by the Pentagon and once by the CIA--is a new weapon that is intended to reduce civilian casualties. The missile does not have an explosive warhead, but rather uses its weight and "a halo of six long blades" that deploy before impact to shred through whatever is in its path.
"To the targeted person, it is as if a speeding anvil fell from the sky," said the newspaper, citing an official familiar with the missile.
Nick Waters, an award-winning journalist and researcher, noted that while previous suspected drone strikes by U.S. forces overseas had produced mysterious results, perhaps the R9X--"a Hellfire missile with fucking swords attached to it," he said--provided a possible explanation.
The Journal was able to identify two strikes that used the R9X.
In January 2019, Jamal al-Badawi, accused of being behind the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 in a Yemeni port, killing 17 American sailors, was killed by an R9X fired by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has acknowledged the strike, which occurred in Yemen, though not the specific munition involved.
In February 2017, Ahmad Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri, an Egyptian national who served as al Qaeda's No. 2, was killed in Syria's Idlib Province by an R9X fired by a U.S. aircraft operated by the CIA. The CIA doesn't acknowledge airstrikes it carries out.
The new missile was apparently developed to fulfill an Obama-era directive to reduce civilian casualties from the American drone war.
A U.S. official told the Journal that the bomb could, in theory, solve what the official described as "right seat, left seat" problem: killing a driver or passenger while letting the other person live.
But, as the Journal pointed out, "Two militants reportedly were killed in the February 2017 strike."
Security experts and observers were bemused at what Task and Purpose deputy editor Jared Keller called "an anvil covered in swords."
"This knife missile seems like something ACME Corporation would design to kill Road Runner," said Defense News naval warfare reporter David Larter. "The payload would either be knives or it can deploy a goofy, over-sized white-gloved hand that bops you in the head with a hammer."
The new weapon is a "kinder, gentler hellfire missile," said Aki Peritz, a professor at American University's School of International Studies. "A precision sky-anvil."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.