Hypersonic weapons Castelion It is raising a B $ 350 million series directed by LightSpeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital, according to sources and documents seen by TechCrunch.
It is anticipated that the round, which values the company in thousands of millions, closes in a matter of weeks. A term sheet has been signed. The new round arrives after $ 100 million in funds from the A series that closed in January. That round was composed of approximately $ 70 million in capital and $ 30 million of debt. Lightspeed also led that round.
Castelion declined to comment.
It is notoriously difficult for non -traditional players to enter the considerable government defense market, but Castelion has made notable advances since it arose from the stealth at the end of 2023. The company, which was founded by former Spacex executives, wants to transform the production of hypersonic missile systems, a critical national security technology.
Despite the mass budget of the United States Department of Defense, military leaders are playing the alarm of China’s ability to develop and form Hypersonics quickly. These weapons travel over Mach 5, and China’s capabilities are beginning to overcome the United States.
Castelion proposes a solution. The business adopts an approach similar to Spacex: build quickly, try frequently and integrate vertically to reduce costs. He has already won subsidies and awards for a DOD offices set, including the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Naval Air Systems Command. The company tested its hypersonic vehicle for the first time in the Mojave desert in March, since it seems to show the government that it can present low -cost hypersonic missiles at scale.
Castelion appeared in the fiscal year of the US Army. UU. 2026 Budget application Posted in June. In the budget, the military branch has requested $ 25 million under an initiative called the HX3 project to support the development and evidence of an “affordable and mass hypersonic weapon” called Blackbeard Ground Ground Sleep (GL). As the document explains, Blackbeard GL will have about 80% of the capacity of a long -range hypersonic weapon variant that is currently developed by Aerospace Prims. But through the contract, the Army says that it is willing to trade some speed and rank for a lower cost product.
The next contract, which is essentially a treatment made once President Trump firm the budget in the law, has two phases: the first will see Castelion deliver a “prototype concept test” that will demonstrate in early 2026. If that is successful, the second phase will include the delivery of 10 prototype missiles in 2027 for additional tests using a standard launch platform called high Mobility System. Blackbeard is also being designed to be compatible with a new launch system that will have autonomous capabilities.
All the previous victories of Castelion with the DOD are a misery compared to the possibilities offered by the lucrative hypersonic weapons market. If the army field tests are going well, Castelion could ink a larger contract and start delivering black beard missiles in early 2028.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman may want to see their backs.
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