Castelion Corp. chooses Sandoval County for hypersonic manufacturing campus

By Matthew Narvaiz

The long-range, hypersonic missile manufacturer Castelion Corp. has chosen Sandoval County for its 1,000-acre campus, ending months of speculation over whether the company would ultimately select the site.

The California-based company and state officials made the announcement Monday morning, with Castelion co-founder and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kreitz saying they decided to launch in New Mexico because of “its technical talent, regional infrastructure and history of scientific achievement.”

The selection of Sandoval County for the solid rocket motor manufacturing site follows a highly competitive offer by county officials, including $125 million in industrial revenue bonds approved in August, as well as finalized leases and a notice of intent in September.

Dubbed Project Ranger, the facility is expected to generate up to 300 high-paying jobs and an investment of more than $101 million, officials said in August. The economic impact could stand at more than $650 million over the next decade.

“Project Ranger represents a critical step in restoring America’s capacity to produce the advanced systems our country needs,” Kreitz said. “We’re proud to partner with a community with a long history of innovation that has powered some of our nation’s greatest leaps forward.”

Sandoval County was one of three sites whittled down from 40 initial locations across a dozen states, officials had said, with the proximity to national labs, research institutions and Spaceport America ultimately playing a key role in the county’s selection.

President Donald Trump’s administration’s plan to spend more than $1 trillion nationally on defense will likely be a boon for Castelion, founded in 2022, as it continues to grow. While the Defense Department’s budget request is slightly lower than last year’s, $150 billion in mandatory defense funding was also included in the reconciliation bill Congress passed over the summer.

Last month, the company said it had secured contracts with the U.S. Army and Navy to deploy its Blackbeard weapon systems.

The IRB package, which spans 30 years, is essentially a payment in lieu of taxes for the company, allowing it to free up money that it can use for construction and during operation. The site is made up of land Sandoval County purchased from Amrep, a landholder and developer, as well as 550 acres it is leasing from the State Land Office, County Manager Wayne Johnson previously told the Journal. The land — between 29th Avenue and King Boulevard, near Paseo del Volcan — will ultimately be subleased to Castelion by the county.

The state, city and county have pitched in $6.7 million in Local Economic Development Act, or LEDA, funds for the project. Another $3.3 million from the county went to property acquisition, survey, environmental and cultural review, and road construction, a state Economic Development Department spokesperson said.

“Sandoval County has demonstrated to Castelion through a rigorous site selection process that we are a solid business partner and are ready to help the company realize its vision and support its success,” Johnson said. “We appreciate Castelion’s vote of confidence by choosing Sandoval County as its next production site for rocket motor manufacturing and look forward to a mutually beneficial business relationship.”

The company, founded by former SpaceX executives Kreitz, Sean Pitt and Bryon Hargis, would manufacture and test tip-to-tail hypersonic missiles at the Sandoval County site — a priority for the U.S. as its adversaries are rapidly developing and fielding the technology.

The company said Monday that it expects to break ground early next year, though construction could begin even sooner.

“Securing this investment propels our innovation economy forward, creating high-tech careers and reinforcing our position as a hub for advanced manufacturing and national security,” said New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rob Black.

Matthew Narvaiz is the Albuquerque Journal’s business editor. You can reach him at mnarvaiz@abqjournal.com.