REGENT Signs $4.75 Million Agreement with U.S. Marine Corps to Demonstrate Seaglider Technology in the Littorals
North Kingstown, R.I., Oct. 18, 2023 -- REGENT, the manufacturer of all-electric seagliders for sustainable maritime mobility, announced today it has signed an agreement with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) to demonstrate seaglider technology for defense logistics operations.
“REGENT is a proud dual use company, and we’re excited to begin this work with the USMC as a first step in building seagliders that support our nation’s servicemembers in contested maritime environments,” said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT. “Rapidly fielding technology that addresses the growing need for island hopping capabilities in the Indo-Pacific is paramount for REGENT. While the threat is existential, we are motivated by the fact that our vehicle could save lives or play a role in deterring conflict altogether.”
Seagliders are a hydrofoiling wing-in-ground effect craft that operate exclusively in the maritime domain. They address a recognized gap within the U.S. Department of Defense for high-speed, low-cost, low-signature, runway-independent mobility in the littorals and fulfill a range of mission sets including troop and cargo transport, expeditionary advanced base operations, and communications. REGENT’s Viceroy seaglider can carry 12 passengers or 3500 pounds of payload and travel up to 180 miles on a single charge.
“In the littorals we have to move, and signature management is critical,” said Ret. General Robert Neller, who served as the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps and now sits on REGENT’s Defense Advisory Board. “REGENT seagliders provide the ability to distribute multiple capabilities in the littorals, including logistics, command and control, and ISR. The REGENT seaglider capabilities will create success.”
The goals of the program are to validate the seaglider’s ability to operate in each of its hull, foil, and wing-borne modes of operation, inform risk reduction and craft-level certification requirements, and understand the vehicle’s potential in military operations, including maneuver and transport operations. The program will culminate in a live technical demonstration of the full-scale prototype during a large-scale exercise hosted by the U.S. Government.
About REGENT
REGENT is pioneering the future of sustainable maritime mobility. The Rhode Island company develops and manufactures seagliders, a new category of all-electric, passenger carrying vehicles that service coastal routes up to 180 miles with existing battery technology. Built to the highest safety standards, REGENT seagliders operate within a wingspan of the water’s surface and couple the high speed of an aircraft with the low operating cost of a boat. REGENT has already secured an order backlog of more than 500 seagliders worth over $8 billion from leading airline and ferry operators on six continents. Its 12-passenger Viceroy seaglider is expected to enter service by mid-decade. For more information, visit www.regentcraft.com.