{"id":19313,"date":"2026-10-28T09:19:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=19313"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:19:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T12:19:43","slug":"los-cazas-f-16-de-ee-uu-incorporan-los-misiles-hipersonicos-blackbeard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=19313","title":{"rendered":"Los cazas F-16 de EE.UU. incorporan los misiles hipers\u00f3nicos Blackbeard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine informa sobre un importante avance en el desarrollo de armas hipers\u00f3nicas por parte de la US Air Force. El Laboratorio de Investigaci\u00f3n de la Fuerza A\u00e9rea (AFRL) le otorg\u00f3 a la startup CASTELION un contrato para integrar su Misil Hipers\u00f3nico \u00abBlackbeard\u00bb en los cazas F-16 Fighting Falcon, pero manteniendo adem\u00e1s la compatibilidad del misil con el Caza furtivo 5ta Gen F-35A. El Blackbeard es un misil hipers\u00f3nico del tipo \u201cboost-glide\u201d con un alcance estimado en 800 km y dimensiones similares al misil Aire-Aire AIM-120, lo que le permite ser transportado externamente en aeronaves como el F-16. Dise\u00f1ado bajo un concepto de alta capacidad y bajo costo, el Blackbeard ha sido adquirido tambi\u00e9n por la US NAVY en 2026 para sus cazas F\/A-18 \u201cSuper Hornet\u201d.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has awarded Castelion, a venture capital-backed defense startup founded in 2022, a contract to integrate its hypersonic Blackbeard missile onto the F-16 Fighting Falcon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement, which came from the company via social media on Oct. 26, marks a major advancement in the Air Force\u2019s work on hypersonic munitions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither the Air Force Research Laboratory, which awarded the contract, nor Castelion immediately responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same day, the service awarded a $694 million contract to Lockheed Martin, a longtime defense prime, to begin production of the hypersonic Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/air-force-launches-arrw-its-first-hypersonic-weapon-into-production\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blackbeard missile has drawn strong interest across the Pentagon, with the Navy pushing to field the rocket-powered, boost-glide strike weapon with a nearly 500-mile strike range on the sea service\u2019s F\/A-18 Super Hornet.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2114724008855740499&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.airandspaceforces.com%2Ff-16-jets-castelion-hypersonic-blackbeard-missile%2F&amp;sessionId=0bdc54c24fadf6e55427aeeb7dd5ed82ce330a4b&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2114724008855740499\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Navy Development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy\u2019s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 used the Super Hornet to conduct carriage and separation tests of Blackbeard on Sept. 18 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., which validated the weapon\u2019s compatibility and flightworthiness on the aircraft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service selected Blackbeard as the winner in its Multimission Affordable Capacity Effector program, which shifted it to a program of record under framework contract orders of up to $200 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The company won a $105 million contract to integrate the missile on the F\/A-18 Super Hornet in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/aerospace-defense\/hypersonic-weapon-startup-castelion-wins-105-million-navy-contract-fa-18-2026-04-24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MACE initiative sought an affordable hypersonic missile about the size of an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June, the service awarded the company its first production contract, worth $23.4 million, for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.castelion.com\/news\/u-s-navy-awards-castelion-first-delivery-order-for-blackbeard-hypersonic-weapon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50 early operational capability <\/a>pre-production prototype Blackbeard missiles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Subsequent delivery orders from the Navy aim to speed up Blackbeard pre-production prototypes to EOC status and field the low-cost hypersonic weapon.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2103546735054168131&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.airandspaceforces.com%2Ff-16-jets-castelion-hypersonic-blackbeard-missile%2F&amp;sessionId=0bdc54c24fadf6e55427aeeb7dd5ed82ce330a4b&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2103546735054168131\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>USAF Spending and Development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For its part, the Air Force has spent nearly $21 million to date on Blackbeard research and development, and AFRL added $16.4 million in a September contract modification for the missile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those dollars cover development through June 2028 under current spending and contractual agreements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The USAF contract modification also pursues compatibility with the F-35A.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the F-35 is the services\u2019 main fifth-generation tactical fighter, the F-16, like the Navy\u2019s workhorse Super Hornet, are workhorse fourth-gen fighters that can carry more munitions without worrying about compromising stealthy characteristics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force has more than 600 F-16s in the fleet and recently moved forward with plans to upgrade the decades-old software system for those crucial aircraft, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/usaf-next-gen-mission-compute-f-16-processing-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19315\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19315\" style=\"width: 1440px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hoist.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hoist.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hoist-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hoist-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/hoist-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19315\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from Castelion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Big Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force now has a three-pronged approach to hypersonic munitions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These include Castelion\u2019s Blackbeard, an air-to-air missile; the Lockheed Martin AGM-183A ARRW, a strategic strike-focused, exquisite, long-range hypersonic missile; and the Raytheon\/Northrop Grumman Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, a cruise missile option to strike ground or maritime targets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ARRW successfully completed booster and All-Up-Round tests and is poised to add terminal seeker and data-link integration for moving-target tracking in its Increment 2 tests. The strategic strike missile is envisioned for the B-52 Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AHM-4A HACM is built for internal or external carriage and geared for both fighter and bomber use to add high-volume magazine depth to the fleet. The missile achieved milestone flight tests over an undisclosed Australian range in late September, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine reported. Initial operational delivery of HACMs is slated for 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, AFRL recently posted a request for white papers on developing a more advanced hypersonic rocket engine for its current and future munitions dubbed the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If successful, the more affordable, mass-produced engine could extend ranges, increase speed, and up the payload for future hypersonic, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/afrl-targets-new-hypersonic-engine-tech-prototypes-within-4-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fuente: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com\/f-16-jets-castelion-hypersonic-blackbeard-missile\/?src=dr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>https:\/\/www.airandspaceforces.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine informa sobre un importante avance en el desarrollo de armas hipers\u00f3nicas por parte de la US Air Force. El Laboratorio&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,2,37],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19316,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19313\/revisions\/19316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}