Castelion, a hypersonic weapons startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, unveiled its Blackbeard missile and secured $1 billion in new financing to accelerate production. The weapon combines a ballistic booster with an unpowered hypersonic glide vehicle, designed for lower cost and higher output than traditional hypersonic systems.
The company’s strategy focuses on manufacturing efficiency, with a 1,000-acre facility in New Mexico billed as the largest dedicated hypersonic missile production site in the U.S. Castelion claims Blackbeard can be produced in large quantities at a reduced price, targeting a fielding timeline of 2027. The Pentagon has outlined plans to acquire at least 10,000 Blackbeard missiles over the next three years as part of a broader push to expand long-range strike capabilities.
Blackbeard is being adapted for air, ground, and naval launchers, including integration onto the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The Army also plans to deploy a ground-launched variant, leveraging an existing air-launched design. Castelion is now accelerating development of a longer-range strike weapon using shared technologies from Blackbeard.
