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U.S. defense startup Castelion announced on Friday it will integrate its affordable, long-range, hypersonic strike weapons with operational Army and Navy platforms.
Under the recently signed contract agreement, Castelion will work with both military branches to integrate its hypersonic “Blackbeard” weapon system onto operational platforms and participate in live-fire tests.
The company said the new weapon technology will advance the Department of War’s effort to evaluate and accelerate new, cost-effective strike capabilities for conventional deterrence.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth previously discussed the arms race with China. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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“These integration contracts validate that affordability and speed are critical to modern deterrence,” Castelion CEO Bryon Hargis wrote in a statement. “Castelion leads the market designing for manufacturability and rapid iteration, enabling the Department of War to move faster from concept to capability.”
“Blackbeard” is Castelion’s first long-range, hypersonic strike weapon, designed for mass production and rapid fielding once integration and testing are complete.
The company announced Friday the Department of War awarded the new contracts. (Reuters/Al Drago, File / Reuters Photos)
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The system uses integrated propulsion and guidance technology to deliver high performance at a fraction of the cost of older weapons, which the company said supports the War Department’s goal of creating a large-scale, credible non-nuclear deterrent.
Castelion, which was founded just three years ago, is headquartered in Torrance, California, with additional facilities in Texas.
The company’s first weapon system, “Blackbeard,” went from “blank sheet design” to more than 20 developmental test flights in less than 18 months, which Castelion said demonstrates its leadership in rapid, scalable weapons development.
The new tech startup was less than a decade old at the time of the deal with the Pentagon. (iStock / iStock)
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In May, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was working to stay ahead of China amid an arms race with the communist country and adversaries like Russia and Iran.
Hegseth told Fox News host Will Cain the Pentagon was building up a U.S. military that could deter future conflict between the two nations.
“We don’t want that conflict. You showed how big they are,” Hegseth said. “President [Donald] Trump has a great relationship with Xi Jinping — we think that’s a good thing. … We’re the ones in the background trying to say we would always prefer to resolve this peacefully. But we’re going to do that by being as strong as possible to meet their threat at every turn.”
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
