Hypersonic weapon garners Castelion $50 million U.S. Navy contract
NewsFebruary 27, 2026
TORRANCE, Calif. Defense tech company Castelion announced that the U.S. Navy awarded it a contract worth nearly $50 million to advance its lower-cost Blackbeard hypersonic weapon from prototype to integrated, early operational capability.
The Blackbeard missile -- Castelion’s initial product -- is engineered for mass production and rapid fielding from inception, say company officials.
The system leverages vertically integrated propulsion and guidance subsystems to achieve hypersonic performance at a fraction of the cost of legacy weapons.
Work on the Blackbeard contract will be performed in Torrance, California and is expected to be completed in November 2027.
