- Navy orders first 50 Blackbeard hypersonic missiles for a total of $23.4 million
- Each Blackbeard missile would cost less than $300,000 once full production begins
- Castelion has received three separate rounds of funding from the Navy since February 2026
A California defense startup is now selling hypersonic missiles for the price of a luxury vehicle rather than a mansion, marking a shift in weapons prices.
Castelion’s Blackbeard missile travels at more than Mach 5 and would cost less than $300,000 per completed round, a fraction of the typical hypersonic price.
The price became reality on June 16, 2026, when the U.S. Navy ordered the first 50 production rounds for $23.4 million.
The Navy’s first real purchase
The order also covers 50 shipping and storage containers, primarily transiting through Castelion’s sprawling industrial campus in New Mexico.
It’s the Navy’s third payment in five months, following $50 million in February to move Blackbeard from prototype to operational use.
In April 2026, the Navy committed an additional $105 million specifically to integrate Blackbeard on the F/A-18 and to conduct the transportability testing required before a missile can operate safely from a carrier deck.
According to Bryon Hargis, CEO and co-founder of Castelion, this funding reflects the Navy’s commitment to “advancing an affordable and achievable long-range strike capability.”
Castelion was founded by former SpaceX engineers and has already completed more than two dozen flight tests in three years.
One of these flight tests took place at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, in late 2025.
Castelion also partnered with unmanned boat manufacturer Saronic to demonstrate the launch of Blackbeard missiles from a robotic surface vessel at sea.
If the tests continue to be successful, the final plan is to purchase Blackbeard missiles by the thousands rather than the dozens.
In May 2026, the company signed a framework agreement with the Ministry of War for the multi-year production of approximately 500 weapons per year.
Cheaper parts from independent industries
Blackbeard’s affordability relies largely on components borrowed from several industries far removed from traditional aerospace manufacturing methods and suppliers.
Chief Operating Officer Sean Pitt said the company uses automotive-grade field-programmable door arrays, originally designed for driver assistance systems and electric vehicles.
These automotive processors cost about a tenth as much as their aerospace counterparts and arrive about six times faster, Pitt said.
Castelion also replaced aerospace-grade metal tubing with precision-machined tubing, originally designed for hydraulic fracturing operations in the oil and gas sector.
These tubes withstand levels of heat and pressure comparable to the demands of rocket engines, but come from many other suppliers at lower prices.
Rival startup Anduril has taken a similar approach, using blending technology from the pharmaceutical industry to process rocket engine propellant much faster than traditional methods.
Castelion, recently valued at nearly $3 billion, has secured Pentagon contracts covering more than 500 hypersonic weapons in ongoing deals.
Via Defense News
