(Reuters) – Castelion, a startup trying to build a hypersonic weapon for the Pentagon, has tested its system for the first time, the company told Reuters on Monday, at a time when a growing group of small hypersonic weapons makers is challenging big defense companies with cheaper, fast-producing products.
The United States and China are engaged in an arms race to develop the most lethal hypersonic weapons, which travel through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound and are designed to evade traditional defenses.
“The flight test, the first of several planned for this year, demonstrates our rapid development approach and is an important milestone for the company. We now have a low-cost hypersonic test platform ready to launch on demand,” Castelion CEO and co-founder Bryon Hargis said in a statement to Reuters.
US companies such as Castelion, Raytheon’s RTX unit and Lockheed Martin are working on the development of a new class of weapons, which could translate into major contracts if production can be scaled up.
Castelion already has contracts with the US Air Force and Navy, the company told Reuters in a statement about the test, which did not include an explosive device and was reportedly carried out on Saturday.
With $14.2 million in funding co-led by investors Andreessen Horowitz and Lavrock Ventures, the small startup has been secretly conducting dozens of component tests since June 2023.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington)