US Air Force to integrate Mach 5 Blackbeard hypersonic missile on F-16

Castelion received a contract modification from the Air Force Research Laboratory to begin integrating its Blackbeard hypersonic missile with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The value, timeline and live-fire plans were not disclosed. The Navy previously awarded $105 million for F/A-18E/F integration and up to $200 million in production orders.

• Blackbeard is designed to fly faster than Mach 5 and be cheap to mass-produce
• The Navy awarded $105 million for F/A-18E/F integration and up to $200 million in orders
• AFRL raised Castelion's contract by $16.4 million in September, to $37.2 million
• A ground-launched version is being designed for compatibility with HIMARS