Californian defence technology start-up Castelion has won a further multi-million-dollar contract to supply its Blackbeard hypersonic missiles for fighters on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers.
The new order for in excess of 400 weapons comes hot on the heels of an announcement in August that the firm had been awarded a $90m contract to advance its strike weapon to Early Operational Capability (EOC) by providing the force with 50 Blackbeard missiles.
The firm noted: “Blackbeard is an air-launched hypersonic strike weapon that gives naval aviation a responsive, long-range, high-speed strike option against maritime and land targets, significantly increasing magazine depth and expanding the lethal reach of naval aviation. The award builds on a series of U.S. Army and U.S. Navy platform integration contracts.”
It said the new contract’s total value was worth “up to $200 million”; the DoW contract quoted a new $43,650,000 firm-fixed-price order which “builds on prior Phase II and earlier Phase III work.” Delivery is expected to be completed by September 2028.
The DoW contract award statement read: “This contract is for the manufacturing, assembly, testing, and delivery of the first production lot of 444 All-Up Rounds (AURs), defined as fully functional tactical missiles packaged within specialized shipping and storage containers.”
Co-founder and CEO of Castelion Bryon Hargis commented: “The Navy’s decision to move into production reflects its confidence in the Blackbeard programme, and the progress we’ve made together.
“That’s how you get capability to the fleet fast, clear red tape, and partner with industry… Blackbeard was engineered from day one for the production line and we look forward to delivering this capability to the fleet.”
Castelion 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.
- You can read more details on the Castelion website
