The Chinese company Lingkong Tianxing has shown off a new hypersonic missile, the YKJ-1000, which is capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5-7 (6125-8575 km/h) and hitting a range of 1300 km. At the same time, its cost is only $99. It is reported South China Morning Post and Defense Express.
For comparison, the cost of the Shahed drone, depending on the configuration, also reaches $99. At the same time, the new hypersonic missile has already been launched into mass production.
In addition, the YKJ-1000 is cheaper than the US AGM-114R2 Hellfire anti-tank missile, which costs $134 under a contract with France.
"The YKJ-1000 is no longer just a bell for the evening, but a loud alarm. The problem is that to intercept such a missile, the Americans, for example, will need to spend at least one SM-6 missile or THAAD, which cost 4,27 million and 15,5 million dollars, respectively," — writes Defense Express.
The publication emphasizes that if electronic warfare systems cannot counteract the YKJ-1000, then the country will have nothing to protect itself from it.
It is noted that the mass production of the hypersonic YKJ-1000 means that the missile has long been tested. At the same time, experts believe that it can be countered with laser weapons, but they have not yet been created.
What is known about the YKJ-1000 missile?
The new YKJ-1000 hypersonic missile is transported and launched in a special trailer-mounted launcher, which looks like a container. It has a standard structure with a rocket engine, a release mechanism and a hypersonic glider, which is also equipped with a homing head.
In addition, the glider is capable of autonomously detecting and circling over a target, avoiding the zone of impact of its countermeasures.
China was able to achieve such a low cost of the rocket by using a large number of civilian elements. For example, part of the heat-resistant coating is ordinary foam concrete.
"The figure of $99 looks unrealistic. But the situation does not change significantly, even if the real price of the YKJ-1000 is 3-5 or even 10 times higher," — the Chinese publication notes.
