China has triggered a "DeepSeek moment" in hypersonic weapons, unveiling cement-coated Mach-7 missiles that can be mass-produced for roughly $100,000 per unit. The development is setting off alarm bells within the U.S. military, which has yet to field a hypersonic weapon and cannot come anywhere close to matching such production costs.

The South China Morning Post reports that Chinese private aerospace firm Lingkong Tianxing introduced the YKJ-1000, a Mach-7 hypersonic glide weapon built almost entirely from civilian-grade materials to keep costs ultra-low.

Slides circulating on X claim the YKJ-1000 costs just $100,000 to produce. The economics are absolutely staggering because a U.S. SM-6 interceptor costs about $4 million per unit, a THAAD interceptor can run upwards of $15 million, and a Patriot PAC-3 can cost as much as $4.2 million.

"Developed by a private company rather than state-owned firms, demonstrating the success of China's Military–Civil Fusion strategy," one slide reads.

The economics of war shift dramatically when missiles become cheap. Low-cost hypersonic systems will reduce Beijing's marginal cost of engagement. Just imagine: a swarm of YKJ-1000s would cost the U.S. or regional Asian allies hundreds of millions to shoot down in the event of a conflict.

The missile showcases how China leverages its civilian manufacturing base of low-cost sensors, BeiDou chips, off-the-shelf camera modules, die-cast structures, and other locally produced technologies.

"If this missile were introduced on the international defence market, it would be formidably competitive," military commentator Wei Dongxu told state broadcaster CCTV earlier this week.

Dongxu added: "Many nations have yet to develop their own hypersonic missiles, and this one—with its long range, high destructive power, and strong penetration capability—would likely become a hot commodity due to its dirt-cheap price."

If the report is accurate, then the "DeepSeek moment" for hypersonic missiles has officially arrived.