AFWERX SBIR Program Advances Hypersonic Technology Toward Operational Use

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation organization, accelerates the transition of commercial technologies into operational capability by supercharging the defense industrial base. Through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, AFWERX provides small businesses with funding to advance high-risk, high-reward concepts from feasibility studies to fielded systems aligned with Department of the Air Force operational requirements.

Castelion Corporation, a Torrance, California-based nontraditional defense contractor founded in 2022, entered the SBIR program in 2023 with two Direct-to-Phase II awards from the Air Force Research Laboratory. The first, a $1.73 million contract awarded Sept. 11 for the Remote Sensing in a TEU (RESINATE) project, is developing deployable sensing capabilities that fit within a standard 20-foot shipping container, and the second, a $16.97 million award later that month under the Future Operational Capabilities for the U.S. program, is focused on maturing a low-cost missile concept.

In March 2024, Castelion received a Phase III SBIR in partnership with the U.S. Navy to mature a highly manufacturable hypersonic strike weapon. Phase III SBIR contracts allow companies to transition prototypes into products, services or processes for military or commercial use and may be awarded sole-source to the original SBIR developer. In October 2024, AFRL awarded an additional $55.8 million Phase III contract to continue development of low-cost, highly manufacturable long-range strike weapons.

On April 5, 2025, Castelion received a $1.39 million Phase II award for the Ku-Band Affordable Resiliently Manufactured active electronically scanned array radar system. In May 2025, the company was selected for an AFWERX Strategic Funding Increase, aligning approximately $15 million in Air Force SBIR funding with $30 million in private investment and additional government funding to support transition from prototype to operational use. Across the STRATFI portfolio, 63.5% of supported companies have transitioned to Phase III.

Capabilities developed through these efforts informed the design and manufacturability of Castelion’s hypersonic missile system, which is undergoing integration with Army and Navy platforms. Government-coordinated testing included prototype vehicle launches at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, on Nov. 6, 2025, and at San Nicolas Island within the Point Mugu Sea Range, California, on Dec. 5, 2025, to collect performance data under operationally relevant conditions.

Castelion operates under firm, fixed-price contracts with milestone-based payments and has raised more than $450 million in private capital to expand manufacturing capacity and product development alongside government efforts.

As part of AFRL’s Deliver mission area, AFWERX structures each SBIR investment with defined transition pathways and award timelines averaging three to nine months to support delivery of operational capability across air, space and information domains while strengthening the defense industrial base.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.