WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has awarded Castelion an $89.997 million firm-fixed-price order to advance the company’s Blackbeard hypersonic weapon toward Early Operational Capability (EOC).
The order, issued under the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III effort, provides funding for engineering, technical, logistics and manufacturing services for the Blackbeard program. The effort is part of the Navy’s “Low Cost Highly Manufacturable Long Range Strike Weapon Production” initiative.
The contract will support the development of 50 EOC weapons and Blackbeard’s transition into a formal Navy Program of Record. It also includes funding for Defense Exportability Features design modifications intended to support potential future exports to U.S. allies and partners.
Work will be performed at Castelion’s facility in Torrance, California, with completion scheduled for August 2028. The Navy said the contract was not competed and was awarded through the previously established basic ordering agreement with Castelion.
Blackbeard Moves Toward Production
The latest award follows several Navy contracts supporting Blackbeard’s development and transition toward operational use.
In February 2026, the Navy awarded Castelion a $49.9 million contract to advance Blackbeard from the prototype stage toward integrated Early Operational Capability.
In April, Castelion received a further $104.99 million Navy contract modification supporting final EOC requirements, test and integration configurations, and live-fire test events in the Indo-Pacific region.
In June, the Navy awarded Castelion another $23.4 million order for the production and delivery of 50 Blackbeard EOC pre-production prototypes and 50 associated storage and shipping containers. That work is being performed primarily at Castelion’s Project Ranger manufacturing campus in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
The Navy’s latest order therefore expands the program’s production and engineering effort while supporting its transition from development and flight testing toward operationally relevant production.
Production Plans
Castelion has been developing Blackbeard around a low-cost and highly manufacturable approach. In May 2026, the company announced a production framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War that provides for a minimum production rate of 500 Blackbeard weapons annually once testing and validation are completed, with a pathway for additional purchases.
Castelion has also been expanding its manufacturing infrastructure. Its Project Ranger facility in New Mexico is intended to support production of hypersonic weapons at scale. In August, the company announced a $1 billion Series C financing round, saying the funding would be used in part to increase Blackbeard production capacity.
The latest Navy contract does not by itself establish a final fleet-wide procurement quantity or confirm the completion of operational testing. Instead, it provides additional funding for the 50-weapon EOC effort, manufacturing activities and the transition of Blackbeard into a formal Navy program.
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