Defense CEO on Elon Musk, Hypersonic Missiles & the Future of Defense
Bryon Hargis, co-founder of Castelion, joins David Weisburd to discuss revitalizing America's defense manufacturing capacity through mass-producible hypersonic weapons. Hargis shares operational lessons learned at SpaceX, explains why merging product and sales functions is critical in defense tech, and details Castelion's journey from nearly 100 VC rejections to constructing the world's largest dedicated hypersonic manufacturing facility.
- Castelion faced nearly 100 venture capital rejections in 2022 because software-focused investors viewed defense hardware as uninvestable. Read →
- Castelion co-founder Bryon Hargis splits operating bets into reversible errors and company-ending failures, applying rapid iteration only to decisions with low downside. Read →
- Bryon Hargis founded Castelion to build mass-producible hypersonic weapons after facing nearly 100 venture capital rejections before breaking ground on a dedicated manufacturing plant. Read →
- Castelion secured a 1,000-acre, 21-building industrial site in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, code-named Project Ranger, dedicated entirely to hypersonic weapon production. Read →
- Legacy aerospace programs like SLS and Orion stall because multi-disciplinary committee reviews create gridlock and invent theoretical failure modes. Read →