Hypersonic weapons startup Castelion has raised a $350 million Sequence B led by Lightspeed Enterprise Companions and Altimeter Capital, in accordance 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 Sequence 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, needs to remodel the manufacturing of hypersonic missile techniques, a important nationwide safety expertise.
Regardless of the U.S. Division of Protection’s large funds, navy leaders are sounding the alarm on China’s capability to quickly develop and discipline hypersonics. These weapons journey above Mach 5 — and China’s capabilities are beginning to outpace the US.
Castelion is proposing an answer. The enterprise takes the same method to SpaceX: construct shortly, check steadily, and vertically combine to drive down prices. It has already gained grants and awards from a set of DoD places of work, together with the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory and the Naval Air System Command. The corporate examined its hypersonic car for the primary time within the Mojave Desert in March because it appears to be like to show to the federal government that it could possibly discipline low-cost hypersonic missiles at scale.
Castelion appeared within the U.S. Military’s fiscal 12 months 2026 funds request revealed in June. Within the funds, the navy department has requested $25 million below an initiative known as Mission HX3 to assist the event and testing of an “inexpensive, mass-produced hypersonic weapon” known as Blackbeard Floor Launch (GL). Because the doc explains, Blackbeard GL could have round 80% of the aptitude of a long-range hypersonic weapon variant at present being developed by aerospace primes. However by way of the contract, the Military is saying it’s keen to commerce slightly little bit of velocity and vary for a lower-cost product.
The forthcoming contract, which is basically a carried out 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’s going to exhibit in early 2026. If that’s profitable, the second section will embrace the supply of 10 prototype missiles in 2027 for added testing utilizing a typical launcher platform known as Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Blackbeard can be being designed to be appropriate 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 discipline testing goes nicely, Castelion might ink a bigger contract and start delivering Blackbeard missiles in early 2028.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman could need to watch their backs.
{content material}
Supply: {feed_title}