REGENT, a manufacturer of all-electric seagliders for sustainable maritime mobility, announced it has signed an agreement with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) to demonstrate seaglider technology for defence logistics operations.
According to 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, says the company in a press release. 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 programme 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 manoeuvre and transport operations. The programme will culminate in a live technical demonstration of the full-scale prototype during a large-scale exercise hosted by the U.S. Government.
For more information
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/10/18/2762290/0/en/REGENT-Signs-4-75-Million-Agreement-with-U-S-Marine-Corps-to-Demonstrate-Seaglider-Technology-in-the-Littorals.html
