US Navy MACE (Multi-Mission Affordable Capacity Effector)

[quellish]

I don’t think they have revealed GL-blackbeard.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...le-capacity-effector.42965/page-2#post-942803

 

[Sferrin]

Now that I think about it, 200 nm probably closer to real range because of the following reasons:
1- MACE requirement ask for something with range that can complimentary LRASM, and LRASM is known to have range around 200 nm (much shorter range than JASSM-ER)

Which is really strange given they have the same warhead.

 

[Josh_TN]

I always assumed that AGM-158C-1 had to occupy a lot of volume with antenna for its RF geolocation system, and that resulted in lower fuel load. C2 notably deleted that feature, so I would think it more JASSM-ER ranged. C3/LRASM-ER was to extend LRASM range while retaining the RF sensing capability (smaller electronics? Smaller warhead?). Not sure if that went into production; have not heard anything or tried to look for info in awhile.

 

[Ronny]

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...le-capacity-effector.42965/page-2#post-942803

as far as I know, these were supposed to be test articles, Casterlion have tested several different version of it in the past but they also said it not representative of final product.

Moreover,the Army explicitly says Phase 1 of Blackbeard-GL will begin with:

a “fixed-fin flight demonstration of the existing air-launched, extended-range Blackbeard design” fired from a modified MFOM rocket pod.

https://www.asafm.army.mil/Portals/...et/rdte/RDTE - Vol 2 - Budget Activity 4B.pdf

 

[Ronny]

Which is really strange given they have the same warhead.

It is plausible that JASSM-ER at high altitude to get its range whereas LRASM supposed to include sea skimming.
To make things more complicated there is also AGM-158C-3 LRASM-ER with more range, maybe to get it back closer to JASSM-ER. This version is purchase since FY2024

 

[Ronny]

I always assumed that AGM-158C-1 had to occupy a lot of volume with antenna for its RF geolocation system, and that resulted in lower fuel load. C2 notably deleted that feature, so I would think it more JASSM-ER ranged. C3/LRASM-ER was to extend LRASM range while retaining the RF sensing capability (smaller electronics? Smaller warhead?). Not sure if that went into production; have not heard anything or tried to look for info in awhile.

There are 3 version of LRASM that gone into production: LRASM 1, LRASM 1.1 and LRASM-ER C3
LRASM 1.1 allegedly also improve range compare to LRASM 1 but not to the level of LRASM-ER C3
MACE range is supposed to be complementary to LRASM 1.1

 

[Forest Green]

Those numbers don't mean anything given the hardware that has been displayed. The missile Castelion recently published pictures of is about 4 m long, which means it can fit in an MFOM pod or an F-35A/C IWB. The booster diameter is closer to 12 inches and the upper stage diameter is closer to 9 inches, so upper stage weight is about half of the booster's weight and overall mass is about 1,000 lbs, about the same as an AARGM-ER/SiAW. The 75 lbs warhead comes from the MACE RFI (https://sam.gov/opp/3a3d52dca5824a4da62e874f888764b2/view).

Thought the upper stage was 7in? I was going by this unless it's a different weapon.
Post #76
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ffordable-capacity-effector.42965/post-942803

If 9in, then the 1st stage is at least 14in, maybe 16-18in. If it's 9in for upper stage then it's definitely powered.

I always assumed that AGM-158C-1 had to occupy a lot of volume with antenna for its RF geolocation system, and that resulted in lower fuel load. C2 notably deleted that feature, so I would think it more JASSM-ER ranged. C3/LRASM-ER was to extend LRASM range while retaining the RF sensing capability (smaller electronics? Smaller warhead?). Not sure if that went into production; have not heard anything or tried to look for info in awhile.

The sensor would need to be huge to reduce range by that much. The seeker has to go in the nose, so how much size are we talking here?

 

[Ronny]

Thought the upper stage was 7in? I was going by this unless it's a different weapon.
Post #76
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ffordable-capacity-effector.42965/post-942803

If 9in, then the 1st stage is at least 14in, maybe 16-18in. If it's 9in for upper stage then it's definitely powered.


The sensor would need to be huge to reduce range by that much. The seeker has to go in the nose, so how much size are we talking here?

It plausible that they use big antenna to improve gain or let it track low frequency radar, maybe the size is roughly that of ASQ-213 pod.
I think the range reduction must be significant enough that they need to go through 2 different LRASM version (ver 1.1 and ver 3) to come back to JASSM-ER range

 

[Not James Stockdale]

Thought the upper stage was 7in? I was going by this unless it's a different weapon.
Post #76
https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ffordable-capacity-effector.42965/post-942803

If 9in, then the 1st stage is at least 14in, maybe 16-18in. If it's 9in for upper stage then it's definitely powered.

On 20 Aug 2026, Castelion posted a tweet that said "Blackbeard unveiled" with this image attached.
View attachment 822168

I initially estimated the OAL of the vehicle at 4.2 m based on the size of the Remove Before Flight tags, then at 4.0 m if the distance between lugs is 30 inches. Based on those baselines, I got a 9.3 inch upper stage height and a 12.8 inch booster diameter.

The 7 inch seeker doesn't necessarily mean a 7 inch terminal stage. Maybe the nose taper on this vehicle requires a smaller seeker, maybe a smaller seeker is just cheaper to deploy without losing much effectiveness, or maybe Castelion is still keeping options open for an AMRAAM-sized missile.

 

[Seragina]

You guys are speculating out of proportion without knowing what's at hand specifically the tech(parts).

The seeker isn't a camera per se but an optical sensor array. Either the same or similar to THAAD. It's basically just a panel parallel to the window.