Grey Dynamics note to readers: this article was co-authored by Alec Smith
The Hellfire R-9X, official designation AGM-114R-9X, is a unique approach to targeted killing that minimises collateral damage. Unlike the standard AGM-114 Hellfire, it has a non-explosive payload designed to impact and kill the target with kinetic energy, with 6 deployable fins to slice through cover and the target itself.
The U.S. has been carrying out airstrikes with this secret weapon since 2017, but the existence and efficiency of the platform in previous operations were only confirmed through publicly available information in 2019. International news was particularly captivated by the assassination of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in July 2022 since the missile used, suspected to be the Hellfire R-9X, was so precise that it killed him on his balcony while leaving his family inside unharmed.
At a time when drone and missile strikes are controversial for their collateral effects, the Hellfire R-9X might offer the perfect solution for counter-terrorism programs. However, there are still unavoidable risks for the US government when opting for an aerial attack using this weapon. Despite the secrecy surrounding the weapon, there are telltale signs of its use from the damage it creates and the distinctive fragments it leaves. Broader questions over the legality of the US killing these targets via drone strikes also remain to be addressed.
1. Development and Operational History
1.1 Hellfire for the Cold War
The AGM-114 Hellfire missile was developed by the United States in 1972 to counter Soviet tank armour in a potential conflict. The Soviet Union heavily relied on tanks and APCs for its military strategy in Central Europe, producing over 65,000 armoured fighting vehicles since 1968, which was three times more than the United States’ arsenal in 1980. Thus, the US Army specifically commissioned a helicopter-launched air-to-ground missile that could precisely defeat armoured vehicles from long distances. Lockheed Martin and Boeing collaborated to produce the “Heliborne laser, fire-and-forget missile”, designed to guide itself to a target once laser-designated, which was nicknamed and later officially became known as the “Hellfire” missile.
1.2 Hellfire for the 1990s & 2000s
In the 1990s, the Hellfire underwent significant upgrades in response to new technological developments and military requirements, which laid the foundations for the R-9X. The proliferation of “reactive armour” on tanks, designed to detonate on impact to scatter and prevent a missile’s payload from penetration, led to the development of new payloads (tandem-charges) on Hellfire II variants. Laser guidance was improved and the autopilot system was digitised, with some variants being able to automatically re-lock onto targets, altogether improving the hit-rate of the missile.
The original AGM-114A Hellfire was officially adopted in April 1986 and has seen success in numerous conflicts from Panama (1989), Iraq (1991 & 2003), Yugoslavia (1999), and Afghanistan (2001). The versatility of the missile increased, with new variants designed for targeting boats, light armour vehicles, bunkers, bridges and a multi-mission warhead for all targets. Mounting platforms also extended beyond helicopters to Navy vessels, aircraft and even tests on Humvees and TOW Vehicles.
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1.3 Hellfire for Drone Strikes
In 1999, Hellfire missiles were adopted by the US Air Force for deployment on MQ-1 Predator drones. By October 2001, the first Hellfire missile was fired from a Predator drone, which demonstrated enormous potential for weaponising surveillance missions for the US government. The Obama administration normalised drone strikes as an option for counterterrorism, conducting 542 strikes in two terms compared to the Bush administration’s 57, and saving ground force deployment in the Middle East. Multiple human rights activists challenged the government’s claim that “innocent men, women and children” were not “in danger”, estimating between 380 to 801 civilian casualties as a result of strikes in non-active war zones. In active conflicts, the success of Hellfire strikes meant that more ground forces in the war in Afghanistan could be withdrawn, with a total of 1337 drone strikes in 2016, approximately 40% more than in 2015.
1.4 Hellfire for Assassinations
According to several media reports and online OSINT investigators, the CIA ushered in the development of the Hellfire R-9X. ArsTechnica reported in an article from 2019 that the Pentagon and Langley jointly expressed a growing concern in the years leading up to the weapon’s development about the increasing public resentment over collateral damage. [source]
Both the DOD and the CIA had defined use cases for the missile, with the CIA likely being one of the chief operators of the platform. The first recorded strike using the Hellfire R-9X in February 2017 to kill the second-in-command of al-Qaeda, Ahmad Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri, in Idlib, Syria, was reportedly carried out by a CIA-operated aircraft. [source]
1.5 R-9X’s Limited Deployment
The existence of the R-9X was only publicly acknowledged in 2019 by the US Government after the targeted killing of Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Ali Al Badawi, a Yemeni al-Qaeda operative who helped carry out the 2000 USS Cole bombing. [source]
The R-9X has mostly been used in Syria, but also in Yemen and Afghanistan. Since 2017, it is not evident how often the R-9X is used by US Forces and based on available data, we estimated that the R-9X has been used in combat operations less than a dozen times. [source]
Mass media regained attention over the R-9X in 2022 when al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed on the balcony of his Kabul safehouse. The US had allegedly monitored his ‘balcony habit’ for months through ground and signals intelligence to determine the optimal time to strike and minimise civilian casualties. This demonstrates a key requirement for accurate intelligence to deploy the missile successfully, especially due to its high level of precision. [source]
The last known use of the missile was in March 2025 when US CENTCOM eliminated Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, a senior leader of the al-Qaeda affiliated Syrian terrorist group, Hurras al-Din. Video footage released by CENTCOM shows a pickup truck that gradually rolls to a stop once struck, showing a roof ruptured only on the driver’s side. [source][source]
2. Specifications
2.1 Technical Overview
Despite the lack of officially released information, we can safely assume that the Hellfire R-9X conforms to the following range of specifications:
Payload:
Open source imagery confirms the R-9X has a 49KG payload similar to Hellfire II variants. 6 extendable and perforated blades, likely for weight reduction, deploy before impact and measure approximately 1-2 metres to extend the missile’s lethal radius. This leaves a distinct trademark of multiple clean cuts in the target (as seen in vehicle damage) and distorted fins found in shrapnel. [source]
Range:
Most variants of the Hellfire operate in the range of 8,000 to 11,000 meters. The AGM-114P/P+ Hellfire II and AGM-114N Hellfire (MAC), most commonly fixed on drones, have a range of 11,000 meters. [source][source]
Speed:
The missile’s propulsion system likely matches the same level of velocity of typical Hellfire II missiles in the range of Mach 1.3. [source]
Guidance System & Accuracy:
Nearly all known variants of the Hellfire use semi-active laser homing as their primary guidance systems. The CEP, a measure of accuracy, of standard Hellfire II missiles is less than 1 metre. Several variants, such as the AGM-114L Hellfire LongBow, use F/F millimetre wave radar seekers supplemented by inertial guidance units, which allow for accuracy in adverse conditions. It is unknown if the R-9X uses one or the other or a combination of both. [source]
3. Potential Operators and Use Cases
At the moment, the US Military is the only known operator of the R-9X, and this will likely remain despite the global prevalence of the Hellfire system. This could be due to the limited use case scenarios for the R-9X, and also a propensity to withhold such a crucial technology.
Except for Israel, some Arab Gulf States, and perhaps some NATO partner nations that operate in Africa, there are no military entities like the US Military which have a regular need to carry out targeted killing missions while minimising collateral damage. There is also a requirement for extremely precise intelligence, down to an individual’s movements, which might discourage potential users when compared to using an explosive warhead. As such, it is unlikely that the R-9X will see widespread use outside the United States military since demand for such a weapon is likely low.
4. Conclusion
Starting as an anti-tank missile during the Cold War, the Hellfire R-9X represents a unique specialisation in a long-standing missile technology. Utilising the pinpoint accuracy of Hellfire II laser guidance systems, the non-explosive payload is a departure from the multi-use case warheads to fulfil a specific use case that requires as little damage as possible. Despite being seldom deployed, partly due to legal challenges and public ramifications, it remains one of the most intriguing recent developments in military weapons manufacturing, which certainly deserves the name, the “Flying Ninja”.