Regent Announces strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures

Boston-based Regent, a pioneer in electric seaglider manufacturing, has received a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture arm of Lockheed Martin, to expedite the development of seagliders for defence missions.

Regent seagliders are a new category of maritime vehicle that combine the high speed of an aircraft with the low operating cost of a boat, says the company. These all-electric, zero-emission vessels operate exclusively over water using the Wing-in-ground effect to maintain flight, and leverage existing dock infrastructure to carry people and goods up to 180 miles, at 180 miles per hour between coastal destinations.

Seagliders fulfill a recognized need within the US Department of Defence for high-speed, low-cost, low-signature, runway independent mobility in the littorals. With capabilities for carrying passenger, cargo, or hybrid payloads, Regent seagliders are suited to a variety of civilian and defence applications in maritime environments including logistics resupply, cargo transport, and search and rescue.

“We see defence strategy evolving toward an island-hopping force featuring agile, affordable, and distributed craft,” said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of Regent. “This investment is a strong signal that seagliders can fill this immediate need in the high-priority missions faced by our Department of Defense. Lockheed Martin’s expertise and resources will be invaluable as we work together to adapt seagliders for defense use cases that are critically important to national security.”

Regent has sold over 400 seagliders to date, to global aviation and ferry customers including Mokulele Airlines, Southern Airways Express, FRS (Germany), and Ocean Flyer (New Zealand). With more than $7.9 billion in orders from commercial operating partners around the world, Regent aims for its 12-passenger seaglider, Viceroy, to enter service by mid-decade.