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U.S. Navy Awards Castelion Up to $200 Million for Blackbeard Hypersonic Missile Production as Pentagon Moves Carrier-Based Strike Capability Into Full-Rate Manufacturing
Sources: USNI News, Defense Daily, Naval Technology, SOFX, Overt Defense, Defence-UA, Migflug, Army Recognition. Navy award announced September 14, 2026; DoD contract notice confirmed $43.65 million initial obligation for 444-round lot under $200 million ceiling. Pentagon procurement documents cite target unit cost of $300,000 to $384,000 per round. Cross-referenced for production volume, Castelion company background, and integration platform details.
The U.S. Navy awarded defense startup Castelion a production delivery order valued at up to $200 million on September 14, 2026 to manufacture, assemble, test, and deliver Blackbeard hypersonic weapons for carrier-based F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. The contract authorizes delivery of an initial production lot of 444 all-up rounds, with the Department of Defense obligating $43.65 million at the time of award from fiscal year 2025 weapons procurement funds. The full delivery order carries a ceiling of up to $200 million and follows 50 early operational capability weapons ordered in June 2026. Awarded by Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation through its Future Capability Development and Integration Aviation Rapid Capabilities Cell, the contract advances Blackbeard into full production. Castelion will perform work at its 1,000-acre Project Ranger campus in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and its facility in Torrance, California, with completion scheduled for September 2028. Blackbeard is an air-launched hypersonic strike weapon designed to provide responsive, long-range, high-speed strike options against maritime and land targets, with speeds exceeding Mach 5. Pentagon procurement documents list a target unit cost of approximately $300,000 to $384,000 per round, making it the first hypersonic weapon designed for magazine-depth deployment. The Navy plans for F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to carry up to four Blackbeards per strike mission. Castelion, founded in 2022 by former SpaceX engineers, has conducted over two dozen test flights and uses vertical integration, building solid rocket motors and flight computers in-house. In May 2026, Castelion secured a framework agreement with the Department of War guaranteeing a minimum of 500 missiles per year. This matters because the U.S. Navy is moving a hypersonic strike capability from prototype to affordable mass production in under four years, a timeline unheard of in traditional defense acquisition. At a target unit cost of $300,00