Sandoval County, NM, Sept. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castelion’s Project Ranger—a 1,000-acre hypersonic testing and manufacturing campus designed to scale critical U.S. defense capabilities—has been named the 2026 Collaborative Impact Project of the Year at the New Mexico IDEA Economic Development Excellence Awards.
Representing a $220 million capital investment, Project Ranger is set to generate $650 million in economic output over the next decade and create over 300 high-paying advanced manufacturing jobs. The facility directly tackles supply chain bottlenecks in national security by establishing end-to-end, high-cadence production for hypersonic strike systems, including:
- Solid rocket motor manufacturing
- Static propulsion testing
- Final system assembly and integration
Selected following a competitive national site search, Sandoval County offered a unique combination of specialized technical talent, robust infrastructure, and proximity to New Mexico’s legacy of national defense innovation.
“Project Ranger demonstrates what happens when regional leadership aligns with a critical national security imperative,” said Chad Matheson, President and CEO of the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance. “This is more than a business recruitment win—it expands America’s advanced manufacturing capacity, strengthens the domestic defense base, and positions Greater Albuquerque as a central hub for defense innovation.”
The project’s realization relies on an unprecedented multi-jurisdictional partnership across Sandoval County, the City of Rio Rancho, AREA, the Sandoval Economic Alliance, the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and key state and federal infrastructure partners.
Joanie Griffin Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance 505-261-4444 jgriffin@sunny505.com