Castelion revealed that the U.S. Army and Navy awarded integration contracts for its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon family and announced planned live-fire demonstrations to hasten service adoption. Structured as a two-phase Middle Tier Acquisition rapid prototype, the effort seeks to field lower-cost, mass-manufacturable hypersonic rounds that work with HIMARS.
The Army and Navy awards fund integration work and live tests intended to prove capability and push Blackbeard toward operational use as an affordable long-range strike option. With over 20 developmental flights completed, Castelion says the design is production-ready and primed for quick transition to field testing.
In the Army’s FY2026 budget, Blackbeard appears as “HX3, All Up Round and Canister,” a seeker-guided precision weapon meant to engage moving targets and hardened positions cost-effectively. Initial demonstrations will leverage modified MLRS pods and M142 HIMARS fire control while launcher hardware matures.
