The hype for hypersonics keeps getting more real.
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that mass-producible hypersonic missile hotshot Castelion was awarded a $50M contract with the US Navy for the “full-scale prototypes, flight testing, and operational fielding” of its Blackbeard missile, which COO Sean Pitt told Tectonic will be an air-launched variant.
The Los Angeles-based startup is also developing a ground-launched version for the Army. Gotta say, that $350M Series B in December is starting to make a whole lot of sense.
Fast and furious: Castelion was founded back in 2022 by three SpaceX alums—Bryon Hargis (CEO), Pitt, and Andrew Kreitz (CFO)—to produce affordable, mass-producible hypersonic weapons. That mission has turned out to be pretty prescient, especially given the Pentagon’s CTO Emil Michael naming scalable hypersonics one of the department’s six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) in November.
Needless to say, Castelion has capitalized on that hypersonic hype, especially with their flagship Blackbeard missile.
- Right now, hypersonics are pretty exquisite and pretty dang expensive. Lockheed Martin’s “Dark Eagle” Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) has a roughly $41M price tag.
- Instead of replacing the high-end LRHW capabilities, Castelion is focused on filling the low and middle tiers of the Pentagon’s hypersonic “high-low mix.” You don’t get any extra points for over-destroying a target.
- The Blackbeard is expected to run in the “hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit,” according to Pitt, and the company is aiming to pump out thousands of them once their 1,000-acre Project Ranger hypersonic manufacturing campus in New Mexico is up and running in 2027.
- That’s earned the company some serious interest from the Army and Navy. Back in October, Castelion snagged multiple awards to integrate Blackbeard onto operational Army and Navy platforms.
Cash-telion: Castelion’s new $50M Navy contract—a SBIR Phase III award—is designed around an air-launched variant of the Blackbeard. Pitt couldn’t confirm which platform, exactly, the missile will be integrated onto, but said they’re “looking to conduct tests off this Navy air platform later this year.” Talk about a fast launch.
“This contract will primarily be used to continue integration with that air platform, so doing all of the engineering and integration work with the Navy and that platform manufacturer to ensure Blackbeard can be safely launched from it,” Pitt said.
“It’s always been our focus to get to a system that can actually be fielded in a timeframe of relevance,” he added. “This [contract] outlines our partnership with the Navy to make that happen by 2027.”
2027…why does that date sound so familiar?