The Hellfire R-9X is a Hellfire variant with a kinetic warhead with pop-out blades instead of explosives, used against specific human targets. Its lethality is due to 100 lb (45 kg) of dense material with six blades flying at high speed, to crush and cut the targeted person. The R-9X has also been referred to as the “Ninja Missile” and “Flying Ginsu”.

It is intended to reduce collateral damage when targeting specific people. Deployed in secret in 2017, its existence has been public since 2019. This variant was used in the killing in 2017 of Abu Khayr al-Masri, a member of Al-Qaeda's leadership, and in 2019 of Jamal Ahmad Mohammad Al Badawi, accused mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing. The weapon has also been used in Syria and in Afghanistan against a Taliban commander. It was used twice in 2020 against senior al-Qaeda leaders in Syria; in September 2020 US officials estimated that it had been used in combat six times.

Hellfire missiles fired by a Reaper drone were used on 31 July 2022 to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, who had previously been involved in planning the 9/11 and other attacks on US targets. It was reported that the missile hit him on a balcony, causing minimal collateral damage. Reports stress that avoiding other casualties was a priority for the mission, following drone attacks that killed several uninvolved people, attracting much criticism. It is widely thought that the Hellfires were the R-9X variant, but a United States Special Operations Command spokesman declined to comment, while confirming that the R9X was “in US Special Operations Command's munitions inventory”.

Images of the aftermath of a US attack on a member of Kata'ib Hezbollah (claimed to be Abu Baqir al-Saadi by Hezbollah affiliated reports) suggests an R-9X was used. The nature and announcement of the attack has led Howard Altman to suggest the weapon system is made more widely available to US forces. In December 2024 an R-9X appears to have been used near Idlib.

In late February 2025 the US government made video of an R-9X in action public for the first time; the missile was used by CENTCOM to kill the senior commander of Al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din in Northwest Syria.

PLEASE NOTE: This is just for Arma3. The game engine doesn't natively support all the Target and Guidence options in the real world so we have to compromise. This means twisting the various real-world options to fit