What Is Hellfire R9X Ninja Missile, 'Secret Weapon' Used By US To Kill Al Qaeda Chief Zawahiri

Hellfire R9X is the latest addition to the AGM-114 Hellfire missile lineage. Hellfires are air-to-ground missiles with laser guidance technology.

United States President Joe Biden announced on Monday that leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman-al-Zawahiri had been eliminated in a targeted drone strike in Afghanistan's Kabul on Sunday. 

Considered as the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks along with the then Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, Zawahiri was in the list of America's "most wanted terrorists". He had taken charge of the terror outfit in 2011 after Bin Laden was killed by the U.S. Navy SEALS in Pakistan's Abbottabad.

As news agency Agence France-Presse has reported, Zawahiri was attacked with two missiles when he was standing on a balcony in his safe house in Kabul. However, the video clips released by the U.S. administration show no signs of explosion. U.S. security officials have also said that there was no collateral damage reported after the attack on Zawarihi.

Defense and security experts have speculated that the Central Intelligence Agency that carried out the anti-terror operation had mounted Hellfire R9X missiles on MQ-9 Reaper AS drone for the strike.

Hellfire R9X is the latest addition to the AGM-114 Hellfire missile lineage. Hellfires are air-to-ground missiles with laser guidance technology. The subsonic missiles, that is travelling at speeds lower than the speed of sound, posses significant anti-tank capacity.

The fleet of Hellfire missiles has different variants based on the warhead, guidance system and physical variations.

The R9X varient of Hellfire missiles is said to have six razer like blades mounted as the warhead. The blades pop out just before striking the target and slice into the body. As there is no explosion in the process, the missile ensures minimal collateral damage while eliminating the target with precision.

Barack Obama administration had developed the missile as terrorists were using innocents as shields, like taking refuge in hospitals and residential buildings. Attacking them was leading to killing of innocents as well. 

As the missile done away with that possibility, "the Obama administration extensively used Hellfire R9X in eliminating top brass of terror outfits in countries like Iraq and Yemen," said defense expert Sanjeev Shrivastav,  while talking to the ABP News.

Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian major general, was also killed by the U.S. in 2020 using the same missile.