F-16s could soon be armed with Castelion's hypersonic missile

Colin Demarest

A long, black-in-color missile inside a workspace. Several flags are hung, one high and one low. The lighting is dramatic. — The Blackbeard hypersonic missile. Photo: Courtesy of Castelion

Castelion received the green light to work its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon onto the widely used F-16, newer versions of which are expected to fly well into the 2030s and 2040s.

Why it matters: The venture-backed missile maker's portfolio is growing rapidly across air, land and sea.

Driving the news: Castelion revealed the F-16 contracting update Oct. 26 on X.

A spokesperson declined to share additional details.

My thought bubble: More than two dozen countries operate the F-16, making this market potentially huge. And Castelion previously secured money for defense exportability design modifications.

How it works: Hypersonic weapons zip at speeds greater than Mach 5, traveling miles in seconds.

Russia and China are thought to hold the advantage here.

Flashback: Chief executive Bryon Hargis months ago told Axios there are plans to produce thousands of Blackbeard missiles annually.

It's "all about scaling out an enormous production capacity," he said at the time.

Go deeper: Castelion's Blackbeard missile will fly on F/A-18

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F-16s could soon be armed with Castelion's hypersonic missile

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