Two senior al-Qaeda-linked terrorist commanders had their lives cut short (literally) in Syria over the weekend when President Donald Trump’s “ninja bomb” hit them. 

The ninja bomb (otherwise known as the “Flying Ginsu”) is a missile packed with knives that was developed by the CIA and the Department of Defense. Officially named the Hellfire R9X missile, it has multiple steel blades that come out of the missile right before impact. 

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A senior research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies says, “The result is a much smaller kill radius, which can limit the damage caused by the missile to the intended target range.” Weighing in at 100 lbs., the Hellfire R9X has six long blades and shreds anything in its way when deployed. Want to “cut down” the enemy? This is your weapon. Instead of having a 700-foot radius with the traditional Hellfire, this new missile has a danger zone of only 30 inches—precise and less collateral damage. 

The theory of using knives in warfare is nothing new. Col. John Venable, a Heritage senior research fellow and former F-16 pilot for the Air Force says, “The munition with ‘knives’ has been around since at least the Vietnam War. The military term for the warhead is ‘flechettes,’ which are dart-like submunitions that are released and spread out in flight as an anti-personnel device.” 

Besides being used in Syria for this mission, the R9X has also been used in Yemen and Afghanistan to take down terrorist leaders including the January 2019 strike of a Taliban commander. Another win for ninja Trump. 

This piece was written by Liberty Paige on June 19, 2020. It originally appeared in SteveGruber.com and is used by permission.

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