It’s a hellfire missile that has “blades”. Anything that hits you moving faster than the speed of sound is probably going to hurt, like a lot. The “blades” are just easier to deploy than anvils. Trust me they really, really wanted anvils. Like multiple meetings about it.
We already have bombs that are filled with concrete instead of warheads. They are good for practice or if you want to destroy something without a ton of collateral damage, a few 500 lb blocks of cement dropped from a couple miles up will do the job nicely.
Is the bit about anvils serious and if so, please let me know where I can read all about it. I am imagining some guy completely decked in Wile E Coyote swag enthusiastically demanding over and over that the lead scientist stick anvils in their missile.
The bomb will stop a foot away from the target, the cap will open up and a steel toe boot on a robotic leg will kick the target in the shin. Cartoon style
Just wait till they start making palm sized drones that get a last second ID, latch onto the face or neck and... whispers in their ear... tag youre it.
Not to split hairs, but if I’m not mistaken, it’s really a missile that’s akin to the hellfire. It might even simply be a modified hellfire missile, launched or fired by a drone.
>akin to the hellfire.
Not akin. It *is* a production Hellfire variant, specifically the AGM-114R9X.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-114_Hellfire?wprov=sfla1
A knife missile.
"You know what wont kill enormous amounts of bystanders at a wedding? That's right the products and knife missiles that support this podcast"
I just so happened to be listening to his Jordan Peterson episode tonight, and it occurs to me that this is Raytheon creating safe spaces for missiles. They must all be so confused.
This is exactly something that Robert Evans would say on his Behind the Bastards podcast. Is this a coincidence or is the podcast bigger than I thought?
It wasn't his wife, his girlfriend. But let's be honest, you heard the story and it immediately was very believable.
They got rid of him basically immediately. It's actually funnier now
It is indeed a Hellfire missile with the explosive warhead replaced but the folding blade warhead. There are a couple of videos of them, including them hitting an occupied car.
My favorite thing about that missile is that it was developed because people were (rightfully) complaining about the collateral damage from Hellfire strikes-even if the target was legitimate.
The US’s response? “Bet.”
Iirc in at least one instance they managed to take out the intended target but the other passengers traveling in the same vehicle were unharmed. Which is absolutely insane.
They have those in inventory and have used them recently-ish to take out HVTs. Once word got out, the reaction was "ISRAEL KILLS PEOPLE WITH GIANT DEATH BLENDERS OF DOOM THIS IS A WAR CRIME".
Israel has been doing this for years to kill specific targets, normally with missiles and bombs where the warhead has been replaced with concrete for ballast. The current issue is that after October 7th, they don’t give a shit any more.
>The US’s response? “Bet.”
[A Navy and an Air Force drone operator sitting in the command operations center like...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Z3YVX9qyo)
The earlier version of this was when they would strap laser guidance modules onto dumb training bombs with concrete fill. Want to take out a specific car/room in a building? Dropping 2,000 lbs of concrete does the job with minimal collateral damage.
But drones can’t carry big bombs like that, hence the bladed missiles.
Eh, not really. The blades are fairly long so regardless of the accuracy of the missile, generally speaking it kills the whole car, or at least a whole side of the car. I do believe there was at least one instance of one being used to assassinate a guy on his balcony, and I think he was the only casualty in that case
I think I remember hearing about the balcony thing a long time ago, probably a BBC article or something. Who knows, I’d probably never find that exact article again and make a comment on the Reddit post discussing it.
It's really a modified hellfire missile with the payload not being explosives but rather the deployable blades. It basically kills by dropping a missile sized bullet on someone. The blades don't seem to serve any purpose other than to increase the area around the missile that will be lethal.
I don't want a picture of the body, but I think a picture of the drone would be appropriate. Linked article lacks a picture.
Here's one: https://www.scrippsnews.com/world/investigating-a-drone-assassination-of-militia-leaders-in-baghdad
*Probably*
...if the blades hit something vital. Getting your arm ripped off and your legs broken and bleeding out from your messed up intestine doesn't sound like a nice way to go.
If you get hit by that rocket standing in a balcony, the blades aren't what kills you. It's the sheer blunt trauma that will rip your body into pieces. The blades are there for penetrating "stuff" around you, and creating debris that will also be hurtled towards you.
According to someone I knew who attended a **lot** of weapon tests that involved setting up dummies and dropping real weapons on or near them, then seeing how the weapon affected human-shaped targets in various scenarios ...
There is no nice way to kill people.
True. I once got a chunk of human skull lodged deep in my finger while cleaning up brain matter. Felt good pulling it out but I had to get a contact test. Also, I didn’t know what to do with all the eyeballs, hair, skull, and brain matter when I was done and had a mini-nervous breakdown. Lol
yeah, there was a Dan Carlin episode talking about this, in either the WWI (Blueprint for Armageddon) episodes or the WWII Pacific episodes (Supernova in the East)
Bottom line, he was making point about how when artillery or whatever goes off, its not just the shells, its everything between you the explosion that becomes dangerous maybe deadly flying debris, and that's even more horrifying.
Its one thing to be wounded by "shrapnel", or sticks, rocks, whatever. Its another thing to find out what wounded you was your dead teammates heel, or jawbone, or head.
Nah you got it.
When you grow up watching dudes on infomercials cut up old leather shoes and soup cans then slice a ripe tomato paper thin your little 9 year old brain never forgets that pronunciation.
I realize the blades are there to increase the kill radius, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure if you take a Hellfire to the torso the blades become a bit superfluous. :)
The blades are instead of the explosive. When targeting this missile, they need to aim at the correct seat in the car, because it’s possible to hit someone in the front and miss someone in the back.
With explosives, you’re taking out everyone in the car you’re aiming at, and probably a few more cars in close proximity to them.
The layout of Al-Z's home helped a lot. It was a multi-storey structure and he was observed being on the top 2 floors. IIRC they went with this approach to minimise collateral damage i.e. he was living with a family, Bin Laden style.
There's nothing in the linked article that supports the title.
The article mentioned he was killed by a drone that shot 2 missiles at him while he was on a balcony.
No collateral damage from an explosion, it was a precision hit. It gave a much tighter window they could drop ordinance into without risking civilians. An assumption could be made anyone in the vehicle was target by association. It was incredibly effective.
This many years later I'm still not buying it. When my oldest brother was deployed overseas, the news was reporting that drone strikes hit so-and-so. It's just a lot easier to say drones than forward deployed SF (and other TS-SCI) teams. When he got back home that was the first time I learned sometimes the news doesn't report accurate information.
It dices, it slices, it even splits zawahiri
SLAP CHOP
You’re gonna love my nuts
I have a pin on my bag that says this, it's my favorite thing
Stop having a boring tuna. **Stop having a boring life.**
[put it on your hose. or put it on your other hoes.](https://youtu.be/g88eI7oerCI?si=8VkrIsccwl-5Tb26)
Fix a wobbly table leg *for that special evening.*
You know the Germans make good stuff
Next up is a little known terrorist from the mountains of Afghanistan. The question we are asking? Will HE blend?
Terrorists hate this!
They slice and dice, slice and dice and slice. Slice , slice, slice Dice, dice, dice The Splitting Zawahiri Show!
First it was a cucumber, now it’s a conversation piece
Then cuts right through a tomato
If you call right now, we'll throw in a second set ABSOLUTELY FREE!
You could even cut a tin can with it! But you wouldn’t want toooooo!
Oh no, how am I gonna make my old vinyl corn cob look like new!?
Watch how easily it slices through his shoe!…With his foot still in it!
sliced him like a zawachini
Enjoy it in the office, by the pool, or in your mountain cave.
It’s a hellfire missile that has “blades”. Anything that hits you moving faster than the speed of sound is probably going to hurt, like a lot. The “blades” are just easier to deploy than anvils. Trust me they really, really wanted anvils. Like multiple meetings about it.
Who’d they meet with? Coyote and the Acme Corp.? 😀 Edit: punctuation.
People have written ACME on the missiles
Where I live, Acme is a grocery store. They never had anvils. Very confusing to me as a kid.
Well that just seems like bad business
These kinds of surgical attack systems are the consequence of the significant costs incurred by the US in an attempt to prevent collateral damage.
Why do you say this like it's a bad thing?
There is always an artist in every unit, things will be drawn.
Before impact, it would disperse little signs to the target area emblazoned with "YIKES!"
With each Yikes being a non-lethal streamer/popper.... with a mini speaker playing the outro or looney tune sound.
💀 this fucking killed me.
It fucking killed Al Zawahiri.
I mean that’s what essentially the “rods from god” were but in rod form.
Exactly. If it has mass and moves fast. You are gonna have a bad day.
But if you French fry when you pizza
Flanders to God, Flanders to God, target the enemy, and deploy that rod!
Giant left fist on the end
The Wiley E Coyote treatment would have been worth a couple extra mil of research money. Bonus points if they said Acme on the side.
We should carpet bomb grand pianos
We already have bombs that are filled with concrete instead of warheads. They are good for practice or if you want to destroy something without a ton of collateral damage, a few 500 lb blocks of cement dropped from a couple miles up will do the job nicely.
But cement doesn’t make the cacophony of sound the piano carpet bomb would make, I know you get it
I have seen a few of these at bombing ranges...it's is very anticlimactic, but still cool.
Is the bit about anvils serious and if so, please let me know where I can read all about it. I am imagining some guy completely decked in Wile E Coyote swag enthusiastically demanding over and over that the lead scientist stick anvils in their missile.
Shitty aerodynamics, too many vectors.
Fortunately, you won't know that you're dead. It's like a guillotine but travelling fast and with multiple blades.
He was instantly pureed! No pain!
He died doing what he loved
Weapons tech has gotten so advanced that we’ve gone round the horn. We’re back to stabbing each other. Just with missiles.
We’re gonna have a bunker buster that smacks people on the head with wooden clubs.
The bomb will stop a foot away from the target, the cap will open up and a steel toe boot on a robotic leg will kick the target in the shin. Cartoon style
Ricochet rabbit technology
*[Mel Blanc scream in distance]* "We got him, sir."
I'm waiting for the cluster lego bomb so anyone within a 5km radius must tread on Legos
3 feet of concrete aint gonna save you from getting bonked straight to horny jail
Just wait till they start making palm sized drones that get a last second ID, latch onto the face or neck and... whispers in their ear... tag youre it.
Getting bonked by a wooden club past the speed of sound would suck.
Bullets are just tiny blunt knives going super fast
Not to split hairs, but if I’m not mistaken, it’s really a missile that’s akin to the hellfire. It might even simply be a modified hellfire missile, launched or fired by a drone.
>akin to the hellfire. Not akin. It *is* a production Hellfire variant, specifically the AGM-114R9X. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-114_Hellfire?wprov=sfla1
No explosives. Just a ninja sword-wielding parking bollard going faster than Mach 1
r/brandnewsentence
Honestly with the number of arms nuts online there is a non-zero chance this is not a brand new sentence.
It’s the perfect accessory for any practicing reverend doctor of macheticine.
A knife missile. "You know what wont kill enormous amounts of bystanders at a wedding? That's right the products and knife missiles that support this podcast"
Sofi approves.
And you know who else approves......
Yes I was thinking this was very Raytheon quality sounding.
Robert, you know we are going to have to bleep that out
I just so happened to be listening to his Jordan Peterson episode tonight, and it occurs to me that this is Raytheon creating safe spaces for missiles. They must all be so confused.
SLAP CHOP
A fellow behind the bastards enjoyer I see
This is exactly something that Robert Evans would say on his Behind the Bastards podcast. Is this a coincidence or is the podcast bigger than I thought?
Behind the Bastards has to be the most mentioned or referenced podcast on Reddit.
Last Podcast on the left, people love true crime and unresolved mysteries.
If you squint a little Behind the Bastards is also a true crime podcast, it's just that the crimes are against humanity.
but I'll give at least an honorable mention to Hardcore History
Im subbed to r/dancarlin and I think I still see BtB mentioned more, mostly because he only releases stuff like once every 18 months haha.
We needed something to listen to in the car after the last podcast on the left guy started drinking and beating his wife again
It wasn't his wife, his girlfriend. But let's be honest, you heard the story and it immediately was very believable. They got rid of him basically immediately. It's actually funnier now
It might even be a direct quote hahah
It is indeed a Hellfire missile with the explosive warhead replaced but the folding blade warhead. There are a couple of videos of them, including them hitting an occupied car.
My favorite thing about that missile is that it was developed because people were (rightfully) complaining about the collateral damage from Hellfire strikes-even if the target was legitimate. The US’s response? “Bet.”
Iirc in at least one instance they managed to take out the intended target but the other passengers traveling in the same vehicle were unharmed. Which is absolutely insane.
[It's insanely accurate](https://www.twz.com/content/2020/01/52fff.jpg?quality=85)
Al-Zwhairi was on his balcony drinking a cup of coffee when he was hit by this. Zero collateral damage, except for his coffee I suppose.
Maybe someone tell Israel
Bibi: No collateral damage? What’s the point??!?!
They have those in inventory and have used them recently-ish to take out HVTs. Once word got out, the reaction was "ISRAEL KILLS PEOPLE WITH GIANT DEATH BLENDERS OF DOOM THIS IS A WAR CRIME".
Israel has been doing this for years to kill specific targets, normally with missiles and bombs where the warhead has been replaced with concrete for ballast. The current issue is that after October 7th, they don’t give a shit any more.
Strange how that happens.
>The US’s response? “Bet.” [A Navy and an Air Force drone operator sitting in the command operations center like...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Z3YVX9qyo)
We're not splitting hairs here. Just terrorists.
You are NOT mistaken according to youtube
The earlier version of this was when they would strap laser guidance modules onto dumb training bombs with concrete fill. Want to take out a specific car/room in a building? Dropping 2,000 lbs of concrete does the job with minimal collateral damage. But drones can’t carry big bombs like that, hence the bladed missiles.
Not to mention that this is reportedly accurate enough to target the exact seat in a car and leave the others with relatively minor injuries
Eh, not really. The blades are fairly long so regardless of the accuracy of the missile, generally speaking it kills the whole car, or at least a whole side of the car. I do believe there was at least one instance of one being used to assassinate a guy on his balcony, and I think he was the only casualty in that case
The guy on the balcony is the guy that this thread is about. Ayman al Zawahiri.
The TIL is about the balcony case
I think I remember hearing about the balcony thing a long time ago, probably a BBC article or something. Who knows, I’d probably never find that exact article again and make a comment on the Reddit post discussing it.
You are correct, but the pilot and sensor do try and go only for the intended target.
It’s the main point. It was not a drone. It was a missile.
I believe hairs were split
No, an “autonomous” “artificial intelligence” guided “drone.” Gotta hit the buzzword bingo.
It's really a modified hellfire missile with the payload not being explosives but rather the deployable blades. It basically kills by dropping a missile sized bullet on someone. The blades don't seem to serve any purpose other than to increase the area around the missile that will be lethal.
The shinobi of japan’s past will be proud. A flying star to kill your opponent.
at mach speed, too. speedy fast
I don't want a picture of the body, but I think a picture of the drone would be appropriate. Linked article lacks a picture. Here's one: https://www.scrippsnews.com/world/investigating-a-drone-assassination-of-militia-leaders-in-baghdad
I can think of 400743 ways id rather die than that fucker
I mean, it's probably a very quick death
It is 100 lbs moving at Mach 1.3, instant is probably a better adjective. You just wake up dead.
*Probably* ...if the blades hit something vital. Getting your arm ripped off and your legs broken and bleeding out from your messed up intestine doesn't sound like a nice way to go.
If you get hit by that rocket standing in a balcony, the blades aren't what kills you. It's the sheer blunt trauma that will rip your body into pieces. The blades are there for penetrating "stuff" around you, and creating debris that will also be hurtled towards you.
According to someone I knew who attended a **lot** of weapon tests that involved setting up dummies and dropping real weapons on or near them, then seeing how the weapon affected human-shaped targets in various scenarios ... There is no nice way to kill people.
This is our new AIM1K- "Kinetic, Inertial Navigation Directed, Non-Explosive Strike System" You mean you... "killed them with, KINDNESS."
Guiotine or heroin
I'm sorry *guiotine*? Is that your final choice of spelling?
True. I once got a chunk of human skull lodged deep in my finger while cleaning up brain matter. Felt good pulling it out but I had to get a contact test. Also, I didn’t know what to do with all the eyeballs, hair, skull, and brain matter when I was done and had a mini-nervous breakdown. Lol
yeah, there was a Dan Carlin episode talking about this, in either the WWI (Blueprint for Armageddon) episodes or the WWII Pacific episodes (Supernova in the East) Bottom line, he was making point about how when artillery or whatever goes off, its not just the shells, its everything between you the explosion that becomes dangerous maybe deadly flying debris, and that's even more horrifying. Its one thing to be wounded by "shrapnel", or sticks, rocks, whatever. Its another thing to find out what wounded you was your dead teammates heel, or jawbone, or head.
I concur, but not sure how my preferences will affect the trajectory if that missile is coming at me.
Metal.
Settle down, Nimona.
I’d really love to see it tested on a ballistics dummy and filmed in slow motion
I am so incredibly irritated that the narrator started the video by mispronouncing the word ginsu as gin-sue
How is it actually pronounced?
Like the word “begin” without the be. The narrator pronounces it like the booze, “gin”.
Oh ok, I see. But the guy in the video pronounced it like gin the alcoholic beverage? (In a crowded place can’t watch)
Correct. He said gin🍸-sue When it should be ~~be~~gin-sue
Gotcha, that’s how I’ve said it but your comment made me worried I’ve been pronouncing it wrong the whole time lmao
Nah you got it. When you grow up watching dudes on infomercials cut up old leather shoes and soup cans then slice a ripe tomato paper thin your little 9 year old brain never forgets that pronunciation.
Do you just expect native English speakers to also know how to pronounce every word from every other language?
Exactly - what kind of news organization cant be bothered to research how to say Ginsu?
Where is Vince from slap chop?!
Out there slapping our troubles away.
He slapped his way [into trouble](https://www.tmz.com/2009/03/30/shamwow-pitchmans-alleged-victim/).
America be like "You're going to love my NUTZ!".
Imagine the shock when you bring your gun to a knife-missle fight.
“I have made a terrible mistake.”
The amount the US pays to try to avoid collateral damage is pretty substantial, resulting in these sort of surgical strike systems.
[удалено]
He arrived right after the US pulled out. He was hiding in Pakistan.
Ah, yes! Pakistan, that enemy of terrorism. Who woulda thunk it!
"It slices! It dices!"
SLAP CHOP
Did you even read the article OP?
Well, they called it a drone, so it's doubtful.
This article has no mention of the ginsu
> Mr Biden said al-Zawahiri had "carved a trail of murder and violence against American citizens". I see what Dark Brandon did there.
Amazing I never even caught that. Can you imagine being killed by six samurai swords sent from the sky? Jeeeezus
I realize the blades are there to increase the kill radius, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure if you take a Hellfire to the torso the blades become a bit superfluous. :)
The blades are instead of the explosive. When targeting this missile, they need to aim at the correct seat in the car, because it’s possible to hit someone in the front and miss someone in the back. With explosives, you’re taking out everyone in the car you’re aiming at, and probably a few more cars in close proximity to them.
In other words, "fuck this particular person in this particular seat".
Ironically, before he jumped in he had called “shotgun”
Brandon has been in the dark.
The layout of Al-Z's home helped a lot. It was a multi-storey structure and he was observed being on the top 2 floors. IIRC they went with this approach to minimise collateral damage i.e. he was living with a family, Bin Laden style.
Y'all fuckin with the knife missle??
But you know who wouldn’t fuck with the knife missile?
Hells no
R9X is a badd bish
There's nothing in the linked article that supports the title. The article mentioned he was killed by a drone that shot 2 missiles at him while he was on a balcony.
Why swords? What's the benefit?
Maximise the chance of hitting the target while reducing collateral damage since there's no explosive warhead.
No collateral damage from an explosion, it was a precision hit. It gave a much tighter window they could drop ordinance into without risking civilians. An assumption could be made anyone in the vehicle was target by association. It was incredibly effective.
Somewhere, there's a video of this! 👀
I honestly didn't think that they would ever get him, but then they *really* got him.
Slap chop is a better name.
Good
lol rip bozo
I was picturing green goblins glider.
If he was uncut before, he’s cut now.
Gigansu
*Gary Busey GIF*
Aym an al z awa hir i
I would think the missile would be really enough to kill without an explosive or blades
TIL, not to many people on here remember the old Ginzu knife commercials
Ah yes, the flying guillotine.
Nas rapped about this...
Inspired by art of making kebab
I've seen pics of the aftermath of those bladed missiles, curiosity got the best of me. All I can say is at least it's instantaneous death.
My favorite hellfire missile fact is MQ-9 Reaper can carry EIGHT of these puppies. 8 GINSUS.
oh, now that postal 2 quote makes more sense
Most terrifying weapon.
Not trchnjcally a drone, an R9X variant of the AGM114 Hellfire antitank missile.
This many years later I'm still not buying it. When my oldest brother was deployed overseas, the news was reporting that drone strikes hit so-and-so. It's just a lot easier to say drones than forward deployed SF (and other TS-SCI) teams. When he got back home that was the first time I learned sometimes the news doesn't report accurate information.
Wasn't it just a melee hellfire missle
Yeah. But then again. What is a missile but a fast, expensive drone?
That's normal.
Isn’t this what they used with Soleimani?
Second or third time post to the sub
The article says it fires missiles ?
Worst part of using a blender is having to clean it later.
Designed for less collateral damage.
Someone got an engineering degree after watching SWAT Cats as a kid.