{"id":2592523,"date":"2026-06-24T10:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/blackbeard-hypersonic-missile-super-hornet-navy-order\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:36:33","slug":"blackbeard-hypersonic-missile-super-hornet-navy-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/it\/blackbeard-hypersonic-missile-super-hornet-navy-order\/","title":{"rendered":"A $300,000 Hypersonic Missile for the Super Hornet"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><p>A hypersonic missile usually costs about as much as a small mansion \u2014 tens of millions of dollars per shot, hand-built, hoarded like crown jewels. The U.S. Navy just placed an order for a hypersonic missile it hopes to buy for the price of a modest house: somewhere south of $300,000 each.<\/p><p>On 16 June the Navy handed the startup Castelion a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price order for the first 50 Blackbeard missiles \u2014 early-production rounds, plus 50 shipping-and-storage containers to go with them. It is small money by Pentagon standards. It is also the first time the U.S. has ordered low-cost hypersonic strike weapons in any quantity at all.<\/p><p>And the first jet that will carry them is the workhorse of the carrier deck: the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fa-18-hornet\">F\/A-18<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fa-18-super-hornet\">Super Hornet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f3f4f6;border-radius:8px;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#333;font-size:15px;letter-spacing:.3px\">QUICK FACTS<\/p><table style=\"border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>What<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">Navy\u2019s first delivery order for the Blackbeard hypersonic missile<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Order<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">50 pre-production rounds + 50 containers \u2014 $23.4M firm-fixed-price<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Announced<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">16 June 2026<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Target cost<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">Reportedly under $300,000 per round<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Speed<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">In excess of Mach 5<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>First platform<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet (live firing planned 2027)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:6px 14px 6px 0;color:#555;vertical-align:top;white-space:nowrap\"><strong>Maker<\/strong><\/td><td style=\"padding:6px 0;color:#222\">Castelion \u2014 Torrance, CA; factory in Rio Rancho, NM<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Navy buys its first 50<\/h2><p>These 50 rounds are what Castelion calls \u201cearly operational capability\u201d prototypes \u2014 not museum pieces, but real weapons the Navy can handle, certify, test-fire and learn from. The work runs primarily out of Project Ranger, the company\u2019s 1,000-acre factory campus in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and is due to wrap in 2027.<\/p><p>It is the third Navy cheque in five months. In February, Castelion took roughly $50 million to push Blackbeard from prototype toward operational use. In April, the Navy added $105 million specifically to integrate the missile onto the F\/A-18 and run the brutal carrier-suitability testing that naval aviation demands. June\u2019s order is the first time the Navy has paid for finished rounds.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=1862803392  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/tmp_upload.jpg\" alt=\"Castelion Blackbeard hypersonic missile concept for the F\/A-18\" style=\"display:block;width:100%!important;max-width:100%!important;height:auto!important;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Castelion\u2019s own artwork for Blackbeard \u2014 a low-cost hypersonic weapon designed from the start for the F\/A-18. Image: Castelion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Castelion is not a legacy defence prime. It was founded by former SpaceX engineers who looked at the missile business and asked why a weapon couldn\u2019t be built like a rocket \u2014 fast, cheap, and improved on every flight. The company says it has flown more than two dozen flight tests in under three years, including a test at Dugway Proving Ground late in 2025.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;Blackbeard was designed from the beginning to support our nation\u2019s conventional deterrence. This award reflects the Navy\u2019s continued commitment to and leadership in rapidly advancing affordable, manufacturable long-range strike capability and moving Blackbeard toward early operational use.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Bryon Hargis<\/strong> &mdash; Co-Founder and CEO, Castelion<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why cheap is the whole point<\/h2><p>For decades, hypersonics were treated as exquisite, scarce, almost ceremonial weapons. The problem with exquisite is that you run out. A war against a peer adversary burns through missiles faster than any boutique production line can replace them \u2014 a lesson the Pentagon keeps relearning.<\/p><p>Blackbeard is the opposite bet: a missile fast enough to matter \u2014 comfortably past Mach 5, with a reported reach of several hundred miles \u2014 but cheap and simple enough to build by the thousand. If the target price holds, the Navy can afford magazine depth instead of a handful of silver bullets.<\/p><p>That is why a $23.4 million order is a bigger deal than the number suggests. It is the first proof that the \u201caffordable hypersonic\u201d pitch can survive contact with a real purchase order.<\/p><h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From a jet today, a drone boat tomorrow<\/h2><p>The Super Hornet gets Blackbeard first, with a live firing planned for 2027. But the missile is not meant to stay bolted under a fighter\u2019s wing. Castelion has teamed with the uncrewed-boat maker Saronic to demonstrate launching Blackbeard from a robotic surface vessel, and in May the company signed a framework agreement with the Department of War aimed at multi-year production of around 500 weapons a year.<\/p><p>If the testing holds up, the plan is to buy them by the thousand. For naval aviation, that turns a single ageing fighter into something it has never really been before: a launch platform for cheap, fast, long-range firepower. The Hornet, it turns out, has at least one big trick left.<\/p><p><em>Sources: Castelion press releases; U.S. Navy; The Defense Post; Army Recognition; Interesting Engineering; Axios.<\/em><\/p><!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}.mf-faq-answer a{color:#5C91FF}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What is the Blackbeard missile?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Blackbeard is a low-cost hypersonic strike missile built by the startup Castelion. The U.S. Navy ordered its first 50 rounds in June 2026 for $23.4 million \u2014 reportedly under $300,000 each, a fraction of typical hypersonic costs. It will first be carried by the F\/A-18 Super Hornet.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why is a $300,000 hypersonic missile a big deal?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Hypersonic missiles normally cost tens of millions of dollars each and are hand-built in tiny numbers. Castelion aims to mass-produce Blackbeard for under $300,000 a round, making it the first time the U.S. has ordered low-cost hypersonic weapons in any real quantity.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How fast is a hypersonic missile?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Hypersonic weapons travel faster than Mach 5 \u2014 five times the speed of sound. Blackbeard is designed to exceed that speed while staying cheap enough to buy in bulk. Several startups, including <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/mach-5-startup-hermeus-hits-1-billion-valuation\/\">Mach 5 ventures like Hermeus<\/a>, are chasing similar speeds.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What aircraft will carry the Blackbeard missile?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet, the workhorse of the U.S. carrier deck, with live firing planned for 2027. Integrating a new weapon onto a carrier jet requires <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/night-carrier-landings-most-dangerous-routine-aviation\/\">the demanding carrier-suitability testing<\/a> that defines naval aviation.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Who makes the Blackbeard missile?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Castelion, a startup based in Torrance, California, with a 1,000-acre factory campus called Project Ranger in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The June 2026 order was the Navy\u2019s third payment to Castelion in five months, following deals in February and April.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>How much did the U.S. Navy order?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The Navy placed a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price order for the first 50 \u201cearly operational capability\u201d Blackbeard rounds plus 50 shipping-and-storage containers. Earlier in 2026 it had paid about $50 million and then $105 million to develop and integrate the missile.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the Blackbeard missile?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Blackbeard is a low-cost hypersonic strike missile built by the startup Castelion. 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Several startups, including <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/mach-5-startup-hermeus-hits-1-billion-valuation\/\\\">Mach 5 ventures like Hermeus<\/a>, are chasing similar speeds.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What aircraft will carry the Blackbeard missile?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet, the workhorse of the U.S. carrier deck, with live firing planned for 2027. Integrating a new weapon onto a carrier jet requires <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/night-carrier-landings-most-dangerous-routine-aviation\/\\\">the demanding carrier-suitability testing<\/a> that defines naval aviation.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who makes the Blackbeard missile?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Castelion, a startup based in Torrance, California, with a 1,000-acre factory campus called Project Ranger in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The June 2026 order was the Navy\u2019s third payment to Castelion in five months, following deals in February and April.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How much did the U.S. Navy order?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Navy placed a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price order for the first 50 \u201cearly operational capability\u201d Blackbeard rounds plus 50 shipping-and-storage containers. Earlier in 2026 it had paid about $50 million and then $105 million to develop and integrate the missile.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->\n\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/south-korea-air-launched-hypersonic-anti-ship-missile-hycore\/\">South Korea Reveals an Air-Launched Hypersonic Ship-Killer<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/a-6-intruder-navy-all-weather-attack-legend\/\">The A-6 Intruder: The Navy\u2019s All-Weather Legend<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A hypersonic missile usually costs about as much as a small mansion \u2014 tens of millions of dollars per shot, hand-built, hoarded like crown jewels. The U.S. Navy just placed an order for a hypersonic missile it hopes to buy for the price of a modest house: somewhere south of $300,000 each. On 16 June [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2592300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2592523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blackbeard: $300,000 Hypersonic Missile for the Super Hornet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. Navy ordered its first 50 Blackbeard hypersonic missiles from Castelion for the F\/A-18 Super Hornet \u2014 cheap, fast, and built by the thousand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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