About Us

Castelion was founded to restore America’s ability to field advanced weapons at speed and scale. Inspired by the engineering urgency of the WWII and Apollo eras, we combine rapid iteration, vertical integration, and scalable manufacturing to deliver affordable, high-performance strike systems. Our mission: rebuild industrial agility to strengthen national security and outpace evolving threats.

Hardware Rich.

Rapid Test and Iteration.

Designed for Scaled Manufacturing.

America Spends Too Much On Defense To Get So Little In Return. We Can Do Better.

The current cost and cycle time required to develop and maintain defense hardware in the United States is unsustainable, and worse, it doesn’t keep pace with the speed and cost of development efforts abroad.

Despite the U.S. annual defense budget exceeding those of the next ten biggest spenders combined, there’s irrefutable evidence that authoritarian regimes are taking the lead in key military technologies like hypersonic weapons. Simply put – this cannot be allowed to happen.

Our Story So Far

  • 2023 • May

    First Contract

    Castelion selected for first Direct-to-Phase 2 SBIR by the Air Force Research Laboratory to demonstrate a new approach to low-cost strike weapon development.

  • 2023 • June

    First Propellant Mixed & Fired

    Due to a lack of cost-effective, rapidly produced solid rocket motors in the United States, Castelion sets off to develop its own solid rocket motor production capability.

  • 2023 • August

    First Rocket Motor Fired

    Building on momentum from its first propellant mix, Castelion’s internally-developed 12” diameter solid rocket motor is fired for the first time in the Mojave Desert.

  • 2023 • October

    Seed Round

    Castelion exits its initial stealth phase and announces $14.2M in pre-seed funding. 

  • 2024 • March

    First Flight

    Between November 2023 and February 2024, Castelion static fired 5 motors in preparation for our first flight. Less than four months after sitting down to design our first hypersonic test vehicle, it was successfully test flown in the Mojave Desert.

  • 2024 • April

    First Flight Computer Produced

    Castelion produces its first flight computer in-house. With mission critical real-time capability, hardware-enforced isolation, and real-time cryptographic acceleration, its built for missions where trust is everything and failure is not an option. 

  • 2024 • June

    First Static Fire in Midland

    Castelion successfully fires its first tactically representative solid rocket motor at its new production and test facility in Midland, TX, less than one month after signing a lease for the site.

  • 2024 • October

    Phase 3 Award

    Castelion selected for a Phase 3 SBIR to advance the development of an affordable, air-launched, rapidly fieldable strike weapon signaling continued government confidence, deeper investment, and long-term commitment to Castelion’s core product line.

  • 2025 • January

    Series A Round

    Led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from a16z, Lavrock Ventures, Cantos, First In, BlueYard Capital, and Interlagos, and $30M in Venture Debt financing provided by Silicon Valley Bank, Castelion announces a $100M capital raise, including a $70M Series A.

  • 2025 • February

    First DoD-sponsored flight

    Under an active Direct-to-Phase 2 SBIR with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Castelion advances from test vehicle CDR to manufacturing, test planning, and range safety approvals in under three months, demonstrating rapid execution within traditional defense test planning and approval timelines.

  • 2025 • March

    STRATFI Selection

    Castelion is selected for the competitive AFWERX STRATFI program, unlocking increased government investment to accelerate the development and fielding of affordable hypersonic strike weapons for the U.S. Department of Defense.

  • 2025 • April

    New Headquarters

    As the company continues to grow and add new capabilities, Castelion moves into it’s new 90,000 ft² headquarters in Torrance, CA.

Leadership at Castelion

  • Bryon Hargis

    Bryon Hargis

    Co-Founder & CEO

    Bryon Hargis

    Co-Founder & CEO

    A 20-year veteran of the Aerospace and Defense Industry, Bryon most recently led sales, business development and early product definition for SpaceX’s National Security satellite programs – building a multi-billion-dollar sales pipeline in under 5 years. Bryon holds a M.S. in Applied Physics from The Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech.

  • Sean Pitt

    Sean Pitt

    Co-Founder & COO

    Sean Pitt

    Co-Founder & COO

    Prior to co-founding Castelion, Sean led SpaceX’s launch and human spaceflight sales in Europe, resulting in more than $1.25B in export deals with leading satellite operators and allied defense agencies.

  • Andrew Kreitz

    Andrew Kreitz

    Co-Founder & CFO

    Andrew Kreitz

    Co-Founder & CFO

    Andrew previously led SpaceX’s launch forecasting process, government cost proposal efforts, and FP&A for classified programs. Andrew has also served as a Vice President in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division focused on aerospace and defense, where he executed over $10B in acquisitions and mergers.

  • Jacob Sweers

    Jacob Sweers

    Vehicle Engineering

    Jacob Sweers

    Vehicle Engineering

    An experienced weapon system and spacecraft engineering leader, Jacob began his career integrating sensing and weapon systems into rotorcraft for the 160th Airborne. During his 10-year career at SpaceX, Jacob drove the development of Starshield’s Earth Observation, Communications, and Hosted Payload development efforts.

  • Paul Perry

    Paul Perry

    Mechanical Engineering

    Paul Perry

    Mechanical Engineering

    Perry has successfully led design and structural analysis teams for critical NASA and classified satellite programs, high performance consumer electronics, and the world’s leading autonomous drone delivery service.

  • David Ferguson

    David Ferguson

    Avionics

    David Ferguson

    Avionics

    “Ferg” previously spent 12 years as a leader in avionics at SpaceX. During his time at the company, he designed the Crew Dragon Flight Computer and was the responsible engineer for the Falcon 9, Dragon, and Starlink flight computers.

  • Bobby Panerio

    Bobby Panerio

    Manufacturing

    Bobby Panerio

    Manufacturing

    Panerio previously spent 12 years at SpaceX, where he led a team of 130+ technicians, engineers, and support staff covering all of the tube manufacturing for Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft.

  • Tegan Counts

    Tegan Counts

    Seeker Development

    Tegan Counts

    Seeker Development

    Tegan has 15 years of experience designing missile seekers for Raytheon and L3Harris, including a role as the lead architect for multiple “blank sheet” designs. Prior to Castelion, he led radar development for self-driving startup Ghost Autonomy.

Rapid Testing

Iterative Design

Real Hardware

America Needs You!

If you’re ready to get your hands on some real hardware, take ownership of major projects, and make a difference with your career, explore our open positions.

Open Positions