The U.S. Navy has awarded Castelion a production delivery order valued at up to $200 million to manufacture Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapons for carrier-based aviation, the company announced Sept. 16.
The order, placed by the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation (PAE(A)) office through its Future Capability Development and Integration Aviation Rapid Capabilities Cell, covers the manufacture, assembly, testing, and delivery of an initial lot of Blackbeard Hypersonic Weapons. The award follows an order for 50 Early Operational Capability (EOC) weapons placed in June.
According to Defense Department contracts cited by USNI News, $43 million of the new funding will support production of 444 Blackbeard missiles. Castelion is aiming to keep per-missile costs around $500,000 to enable mass affordable production, USNI reported.
Blackbeard is an air-launched hypersonic strike weapon designed to give naval aviation a responsive, long-range, high-speed strike option against maritime and land targets, according to Castelion. The company said the weapon significantly increases magazine depth and expands the lethal reach of naval aviation.
Castelion CEO Bryon Hargis said the Navy’s decision to move into production reflects confidence in the program.
“The Navy’s decision to move into production reflects its confidence in the Blackbeard program, and the progress we’ve made together,” Hargis said. “That’s how you get capability to the fleet fast, clear red tape, and partner with industry.”
Castelion said it developed Blackbeard with hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force. The company’s production strategy uses vertical integration and commercial manufacturing methods to control cost, quality, and schedule from raw material to finished round.
Work under the award will be performed at Project Ranger, the company’s 1,000-acre manufacturing campus in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and at its facility in Torrance, California.
The award builds on a series of U.S. Army and U.S. Navy platform integration contracts, according to the company.
Sources: Naval News · USNI News