Hypersonic weapons startup Castelion has raised a $350 million Collection B led by Lightspeed Enterprise Companions and Altimeter Capital, in keeping with sources and paperwork considered by TechCrunch.
The spherical, which values the corporate within the billions, is anticipated to shut in a matter of weeks. The brand new spherical comes on the heels of $100 million in Collection A funding that closed in January. That spherical was composed of about $70 million in fairness and $30 million of debt. Lightspeed additionally led that spherical.
Castelion declined to remark.
It’s notoriously troublesome for non-traditional gamers to interrupt into the sizable authorities protection market, however Castelion has made notable strides because it emerged from stealth in late 2023. The corporate, which was based by former SpaceX executives, desires to remodel the manufacturing of hypersonic missile methods, a crucial nationwide safety know-how.
Regardless of the U.S. Division of Protection’s large funds, navy leaders are sounding the alarm on China’s skill to quickly develop and area hypersonics. These weapons journey above Mach 5 — and China’s capabilities are beginning to outpace the USA.
Castelion is proposing an answer. The enterprise takes an analogous strategy to SpaceX: construct shortly, check regularly, and vertically combine to drive down prices. It has already received grants and awards from a collection of DoD places of work, together with the Air Pressure Analysis Laboratory and the Naval Air System Command. The corporate examined its hypersonic automobile for the primary time within the Mojave Desert in March because it seems to be to show to the federal government that it might probably area low-cost hypersonic missiles at scale.
Castelion appeared within the U.S. Military’s fiscal yr 2026 funds request printed in June. Within the funds, the navy department has requested $25 million underneath an initiative referred to as Mission HX3 to help the event and testing of an “reasonably priced, mass-produced hypersonic weapon” referred to as Blackbeard Floor Launch (GL). Because the doc explains, Blackbeard GL can have round 80% of the aptitude of a long-range hypersonic weapon variant presently being developed by aerospace primes. However by way of the contract, the Military is saying it’s keen to commerce somewhat little bit of pace and vary for a lower-cost product.
The forthcoming contract, which is basically a performed deal as soon as President Trump indicators the funds into legislation, has two phases: the primary will see Castelion ship a “prototype proof-of-concept” that it’ll show in early 2026. If that’s profitable, the second part will embrace the supply of 10 prototype missiles in 2027 for added testing utilizing a regular launcher platform referred to as Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Blackbeard can be being designed to be suitable with a brand new launcher system that can have autonomous capabilities.
All of Castelion’s earlier wins with the DoD are a pittance in comparison with the probabilities afforded by the profitable hypersonic-weapons market. If the Military area testing goes nicely, Castelion might ink a bigger contract and start delivering Blackbeard missiles in early 2028.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman could wish to watch their backs.
