Construction has begun on a major hypersonic weapons manufacturing facility in the United States, marking a significant expansion of domestic production capacity for advanced long-range strike systems.
U.S.-based defense company Castelion has announced the launch of Project Ranger, a large-scale manufacturing campus spanning approximately 405 hectares in Sandoval County, New Mexico. According to Defence Blog, the site will serve as a centralized hub for the serial production of hypersonic weapons intended for the U.S. Army.
The company said total investment in the project exceeds $220 million, with Castelion estimating the facility will generate an economic impact of roughly $650 million for the state over the next decade. The campus is designed to support the full production lifecycle of hypersonic systems, addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing U.S. hypersonic weapons programs: industrial scale.
The manufacturing complex will include facilities for solid-fuel rocket motor production, bench testing, and final assembly of hypersonic weapon systems. Once operational, Project Ranger is expected to significantly accelerate the transition from prototype development to sustained, large-volume production.
Construction will be phased. Castelion said the first building is scheduled to be completed by summer 2026, with all 21 planned buildings expected to be finished by the end of 2026. The construction timeline aligns with U.S. military plans to deploy operational hypersonic weapons systems later this decade, including the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) program.
According to Castelion leadership, the initiative is intended to resolve long-standing production bottlenecks that have slowed U.S. hypersonic weapons deployment.
“Project Ranger is a revival of American manufacturing that will provide the country with the systems it needs,” said Castelion CEO Brian Hargis.
Defense analysts have consistently cited limited manufacturing capacity as a critical constraint on hypersonic weapons programs, which require specialized materials, precision engineering, and tightly integrated supply chains. By consolidating these capabilities at a single campus, Castelion aims to improve production efficiency, reduce program risk, and strengthen the U.S. industrial base for advanced weapons systems.
Images released by the company show early construction activity at the New Mexico site, reinforcing expectations that Project Ranger will become a cornerstone of U.S. hypersonic weapons manufacturing as global competition in advanced missile technology intensifies.
Originally reported by Vladyslav Khomenko in MilitarNYI.
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