US Military Advances Hypersonic Weapons Integration Amid Global Arms Race with China and Russia

Castelion's prototype missile development test launched from a mobile launcher in California (File)

Defense startup Castelion announced on Friday that it has secured contracts to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon with existing US Army systems, marking a crucial initial step toward enabling the military to deploy these powerful and nearly unstoppable weapons globally.

The United States and China are currently locked in an arms race to develop the most advanced hypersonic weapons, which travel through the upper atmosphere at speeds exceeding five times the speed of sound and are specifically designed to evade conventional defense systems.

As part of the new contracts, Castelion will collaborate with the Army to incorporate the Blackbeard weapon system onto operational platforms such as the Army's High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

HIMARS has gained widespread recognition after footage from the Ukraine conflict showcased these launchers in combat operations.

Various US defense contractors including Castelion, Stratolaunch, RTX's Raytheon division and Lockheed Martin are all actively developing hypersonic weapons technology, which could result in substantial military contracts.

The financial details of the integration contracts with both the Army and Navy were not revealed in Castelion's statement. US President Donald Trump's 2026 budget proposal to Congress – which has not yet been enacted – allocated $25 million for similar integration efforts in the future.

Blackbeard, Castelion's pioneering hypersonic strike weapon, is engineered for mass production and rapid deployment at significantly lower costs compared to legacy weapons systems.

The company plans to manufacture thousands of these weapons annually at full production capacity, with a target price point in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit.

These contracts represent a significant advancement in expanding hypersonic weapon options for the Pentagon, which is seeking to deploy more cost-effective strike capabilities.

Both China and Russia maintain competitive hypersonic weapons programs in what has evolved into a geopolitical competition to develop and field missiles capable of changing direction while traveling at several times the speed of sound.