Castelion Raises $1 Billion to Scale Blackbeard Missiles at $13 Billion Valuation
Updated
Updated · SpaceNews · Aug 19
Castelion Raises $1 Billion to Scale Blackbeard Missiles at $13 Billion Valuation
3 articles · Updated · SpaceNews · Aug 19
Summary
$1.05 billion in new financing gives Castelion $800 million in equity plus a $250 million revolving credit facility to expand Blackbeard hypersonic missile production and build longer-range and defensive systems.
The four-year-old startup, now valued at $13 billion, is pitching lower-cost mass production as the Pentagon pushes to replenish strained munitions stockpiles and widen its supplier base beyond traditional defense primes.
New Mexico production is central to that plan: Castelion targets initial Blackbeard fielding in 2027, with the U.S. Navy already its main customer and more than $500 million in military contracts secured over 18 months.
Blackbeard still must clear integration, flight testing and certification, and Castelion has yet to prove it can hit promised scale and cost targets as manufacturing moves beyond prototypes.
A Pentagon framework signed in May envisions at least 500 missiles a year after successful testing; Reuters reported Blackbeard could cost about $384,000 each, far below many existing U.S. hypersonic weapons.