Castelion has been given $90 million by the U.S. Navy to provide it with 50 of its Blackbeard hypersonic missiles.
The Californian defence technology start-up was founded in November 2022 by former SpaceX executives and aerospace engineers. It focuses on mass-producing low-cost, high-yield hypersonic weapons and long-range strike systems.
It has just been awarded a close-to-$90m firm-fixed-price order from the U.S. Navy to advance its Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon to Early Operational Capability (EOC).
Blackbeard is designed to exceed speeds of Mach 5 with an operational strike range of approximately 500 nautical miles. The U.S. Navy is reportedly looking to equip its fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters with the weapon.
The latest $90 million funding takes the firm’s U.S. military contracts total past the $500 million mark.
Castelion said it expected to complete the order by August 2028 and added: “The order funds engineering, technical, logistics, and manufacturing services supporting 50 EOC weapons and Blackbeard’s transition to a Navy Program of Record.
“It also funds Defense Exportability Features design modifications to accelerate export to our allies and partners. The award is a critical step in Blackbeard’s transition from development and flight testing toward operationally relevant production.”
Castelion also recently announced a tactical partnership with uncrewed surface vessels specialists Saronic to develop a capability to launch Blackbeard missiles from its Marauder USV.
- You can read more details on the Castelion website and the U.S. DoW website
