American defense startup Castelion on Friday, October 24, announced the signing of several contracts with the U.S. Army and Navy to integrate their latest hypersonic weapon system Blackbeard into platforms already in service with those two services, and to conduct demonstrations during operational tests.
Company CEO Bryon Hargis said that these integration contracts confirm that availability and speed are critical for modern deterrence, the company's press release states. Castelion calls itself a market leader in solutions focused on technological readiness and rapid integration into existing weapon systems.
Read more: Flakturm Revival: russia Builds "Fortress Moscow" to Shield Itself from Ukrainian Strikes
A note attached to the announcement points out that Castelion is a fairly young company, founded in late 2022, which managed to create the Blackbeard hypersonic missile in very short timeframes from a clean sheet to more than 20 test flights in less than 18 months, i.e., no more than a year and a half.
In particular, we reported in June this year that Blackbeard high-precision weapons reached Milestone B and moved into the Engineering & Manufacturing Development phase. At that time it was noted that full tests of the missile from a HIMARS launcher were planned to start in 2027 however, given that a number of test launches have already been carried out, launches from HIMARS could possibly take place even next year; in any case, the company plans to prepare 10 working prototypes for tests with the M142 by the end of 2026.
Blackbeard GL's technical characteristics are unknown, but from available information it will occupy a niche between ER-GMLRS and PrSM, will be capable of striking moving targets, and will have a relatively low cost.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that it took the United States four years for the first Dark Eagle battery to receive a full complement of hypersonic missiles.
Read more: France to Launch First Fully Autonomous UAS and UGV Unit by Summer 2026
