Saronic, Castelion to pair Marauder MUSV with Blackbeard hypersonic capability

WASHINGTON — Defense tech firm Saronic will outfit its Marauder medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) with defense startup Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic vehicle as part of a new partnership, gearing up for a demonstration next year, the firms announced today. 

The partnership is a milestone signifying the first integration of hypersonic vehicles on an autonomous surface vessel (ASV), according to the companies. The firms said a maritime launch demonstration is slated for 2027. 

“Launching a Castelion hypersonic from a Marauder MUSV significantly changes the approach for any adversary calculating where and how the U.S. can strike,” Dino Mavrookas, co-founder and CEO of Saronic, said in a statement today. “Deterrence is ultimately a function of capability, capacity, and credibility. Saronic and Castelion are working to increase all three by combining autonomous maritime and hypersonic strike capabilities that are more scalable, more affordable, and faster to field.”

Castelion is increasing production of Blackbeard missiles to “several thousand” annually, the company said today. The startup previously announced in October that it had received several awards for the Blackbeard weapon system to be integrated onto Army and Navy platforms. 

“Blackbeard and Marauder will give our warfighters more shots, from more places, with fewer constraints,” Bryon Hargis, co-founder and CEO of Castelion, said in today’s statement.

Saronic is in the middle of expanding a Louisiana shipyard, an effort expected to conclude by the end of the year, as part of an initiative to build ASVs. With the additional shipyard capacity, the company is equipped to deliver 20 Marauders each year, Saronic said today. 

Meanwhile, the company announced late in May that the Marauder, a 180-foot vessel that can carry up to 150 metric tons, was starting on-water trials.

Also late last month, the Navy said that Saronic is one of seven companies that submitted designs for the service’s MUSV marketplace that will participate in at-sea testing this summer. Those who successfully complete that phase, which is expected to conclude in October, will receive $15 million and qualify for follow-on production.

Saronic has several ASVs, including the Corsair, which can carry up to 1,000 lbs over 1,000 nautical miles, according to the company. The Navy’s Task Force 59 in Bahrain focused on unmanned operations began fielding the vessels in March. 

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that Navy units, including Task Force 59, supported rescue operations of two crew members from a US Army AH-64 Apache after their aircraft was downed near the coast of Oman. 

“The surface drone that assisted in Monday’s rescue of the Apache crew off the coast of Oman was a U.S. Navy Corsair unmanned surface vessel operated by U.S. 5th Fleet’s Task Force 59,” CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement to Breaking Defense.