Castelion prepares Blackbeard hypersonic missile for mass production by 2027

Defense technology company Castelion has raised $1 billion in Series C financing as it prepares to scale production of its Blackbeard hypersonic strike missile and expand into longer-range weapons and missile defense systems. The funding round values the company at $13 billion and combines $800 million in equity financing with $250 million in committed financing for a revolving credit facility, according to the company’s announcement. JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and funds managed by Carlyle co-led the equity financing. Existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst and Interlagos also participated, alongside new investor T. Rowe Price. From flight tests to production Castelion’s biggest priority is expanding production of Blackbeard, its first low-cost, mass-producible hypersonic strike missile. The company said it has secured more than $500 million in U.S. military contracts over the past 18 months and took Blackbeard from a clean-sheet design to a program of record in under four years. Fielding is currently targeted for 2027. Castelion plans to use the new funding to significantly expand manufacturing capacity at its Project Ranger site in Sandoval County, New Mexico. The company describes the 1,000-acre campus as the nation’s largest dedicated hypersonic missile manufacturing facility. Castelion had already committed more than $250 million in private infrastructure spending at the site and now plans to invest hundreds of millions more as it increases Blackbeard production. CEO and co-founder Bryon Hargis said the company’s strategy centers on producing advanced weapons in large quantities while keeping costs low enough to make them practical at scale. Longer-range weapons and defensive systems The Series C funding will also support development of a much longer-range precision strike weapon, which Castelion said has already been under development for several years. The new system will draw on technologies, components and manufacturing methods developed for Blackbeard. Castelion said its objective is to create a lower-cost alternative to larger, more expensive long-range strike systems while making hypersonic weapons available in greater numbers. The company is also expanding into defensive systems, applying the manufacturing techniques and rapid-development model used for Blackbeard to air and missile defense. According to Castelion, the effort will focus on lower-cost systems that can be produced at higher rates and provide greater “magazine depth” for air and missile defense missions. A bet on defense manufacturing at scale The funding comes as the U.S. defense sector increasingly focuses on production capacity alongside advanced weapon performance. Castelion has positioned itself around the idea that future conventional deterrence will depend not only on highly capable systems, but also on the ability to manufacture them rapidly and in significant numbers. Since its founding, the company says it has moved from early development to repeated flight testing, operational integration and construction of dedicated production infrastructure. Interlagos Capital Chairman Tom Ochinero said Castelion is building toward the ability to produce thousands of hypersonic weapons annually, a production scale the company and its investors believe could mark a significant shift for the U.S. hypersonic weapons industry. With $1 billion in fresh capital and Blackbeard funding targeted for next year, Castelion is now preparing for its next phase and turning a flight-tested hypersonic weapon into a high-rate production program while developing a broader portfolio of long-range strike and defensive systems.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Kaif Shaikh is a journalist and writer passionate about turning complex information into clear, impactful stories. His writing covers technology, sustainability, geopolitics, and occasionally fiction. A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, his work has appeared in the Times of India and beyond. After a near-fatal experience, Kaif began seeing both stories and silences differently. Outside work, he juggles far too many projects and passions, but always makes time to read, reflect, and hold onto the thread of wonder.