Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Army is accelerating the development of a new, lower-cost hypersonic missile system called “Blackbeard,” developed by defense startup Castelion, which was founded by former SpaceX employees.
-The Fiscal Year 2026 budget allocates $25 million to integrate the Blackbeard Ground Launch (GL) missile into existing HIMARS launchers.
-This will provide a mid-range hypersonic strike capability at a fraction of the cost of larger systems.
-The missile will also be compatible with a new, uncrewed autonomous launcher vehicle from Raytheon dubbed “DeepStrike,” signaling a broader Pentagon shift toward more affordable, innovative, and rapidly deployable weapons systems.
Meet ‘Blackbeard’: The New Hypersonic Missile Coming to the Army’s HIMARS
President Donald Trump may be feuding with SpaceX founder Elon Musk again, but alumni of the world’s richest man’s space company are partnering with the U.S. Army to develop lower-cost ground-launched missile systems.
The U.S. Army confirmed this week that it will move forward with plans to invest in “Blackbeard” missile technology developed by defense startup Castelion as part of its Fiscal Year 2026 budget. The Blackbeard Ground Launch (GL) hypersonic strike weapon will move to the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, with $25 million earmarked for the project.
New funding allocated to the program will support the integration of the missile into the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), one of the U.S. Army’s most widely deployed light multiple rocket launchers, which was developed in the late 1990s.
According to the Army’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request, the program is pursuing a “Middle Tier of Acquisition for Rapid Prototyping (MTA-RP) pathway, with the goal of transitioning the system to Program Executive Office Missile and Space if successful and deemed cost-effective.”
“To accelerate development and leverage innovation, the program office is pursuing acquisition under a Fixed-Firm-Price (FFP) sole-source Other Transaction Authority for Prototyping (OTAP) with Castelion Corporation, a non-traditional defense contractor,” it continues.
The news comes as the Department of Defense shifts budget priorities to long-term advanced weapons development, cutting costs by slashing procurement of underperforming and expensive projects, including the embattled M10 Booker program.
What Is the “Blackbeard”?
Developed by former SpaceX employees who founded Castelion in 2022, the “Blackbeard” missile is designed to engage targets from hundreds of miles away at hypersonic speeds.
While the missile will be compatible with existing HIMARS systems, it is being developed in conjunction with a new uncrewed launcher vehicle from Raytheon dubbed “DeepStrike.”
The autonomous mobile launcher vehicle reportedly gives soldiers “autonomous capability and increased magazine depth” in a platform that is more mobile and equipped with improved armor.
Army budget documents state that the missile is expected to provide advanced performance at lower costs, reaching 80% of the capability of the Precise Strike Missile (PrSM), a short-range ballistic missile developed by the U.S. Army to replace its MGM-150 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) but at a fraction of the cost.
The missile employs seeker-based terminal guidance technology, capable of targeting mobile and hidden threats, even in poor visibility or the presence of electronic interference.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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