Castelion missile facility near Rio Rancho on track for 2026 launch

Castelion’s Project Ranger missile campus near Rio Rancho is now on track to be operating by the end of 2026, putting a major defense manufacturing project on a fast path from groundbreaking to production in Sandoval County. The 1,000-acre site is planned for solid rocket motor manufacturing, static tests and assembly of hypersonic missile components.

The company broke ground on the campus on January 21, 2026, with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, U.S. Army Portfolio Acquisition Executive Fires Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano and NAVAIR Rapid Capabilities Cell Director Paul McGinty among the officials at the ceremony. Company and state materials tied the project to about $220 million in private investment, while Castelion has said the facility is expected to create more than 300 high-paying manufacturing jobs.

Castelion has also put hard numbers on the local payoff it says Sandoval County is being asked to accept. In a November 2025 announcement, the company projected more than 300 jobs and more than $650 million in economic output over the next decade. The New Mexico Economic Development Department has described the project as reinforcing the state’s position in defense innovation, and county leaders have backed the site with incentives and infrastructure support, including road work tied to the campus.

That support has landed alongside sustained public concern in the Rio Rancho area, where residents packed meetings in October and December 2025 to press Castelion on noise, groundwater, contamination risk, emergency response and property values. Andrew Kreitz, the company’s co-founder, has said no missiles will be launched from the site and that some chemical processes will not take place there. He also said Castelion wants to stay engaged with neighbors and plans more community meetings later in the summer or fall so residents can ask questions about the operation.

The project carries a broader land-use and economic consequence for Sandoval County. Earlier local reporting described a large manufacturing complex of about 22 buildings, and Castelion said it had reviewed 35 locations across 30 states before choosing Sandoval County. The site’s name, Project Ranger, is a nod to NASA’s original Ranger program, adding another layer to a project that will test how much industrial expansion, defense work and community tolerance can coexist near Rio Rancho homes.