Castelion announced integration awards from the U.S. Army and Navy for its Blackbeard hypersonic family and confirmed upcoming live-fire demonstrations to accelerate adoption. The effort is structured as a two-phase Middle Tier Acquisition rapid prototype to deliver lower-cost, mass-producible hypersonic munitions that can be used with HIMARS.
The service contracts support integration on operational platforms and fund live tests to demonstrate capability and drive rapid fielding of affordable long-range strike options. Castelion notes Blackbeard was built for scalable production and has flown over 20 developmental missions, enabling a swift move from integration into field trials.
Listed in the Army FY2026 budget as “HX3, All Up Round and Canister,” Blackbeard is presented as a seeker-equipped precision weapon for engaging moving and hardened targets at reduced cost. Near-term demonstrations will run via modified MLRS pods and the M142 HIMARS fire-control architecture while launcher hardware is refined.
