REGENT, US Marines expand partnership for next phase of seaglider development

Rhode Island-based developer and manufacturer of all-electric seagliders REGENT Craft has completed its initial contract with the US Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) and signed an agreement for a second phase to work on seaglider capabilities across missions including contested logistics and medevac/casevac.

The first phase of REGENT’s work with MCWL, an agreement valued at $4.75 million, included 12 deliverables that demonstrated the technical feasibility of sea gliders. These started with the testing of a quarter-scale prototype and culminated in the successful start of sea trials of the full-scale Viceroy prototype earlier this month.

The second phase will continue to demonstrate the full-scale seaglider prototype’s technical capabilities. It will also include demonstrations that are applicable to specific defense operations. The new agreement is currently estimated at $10 million with opportunities for extension.

“We are incredibly proud to extend our collaboration with the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab and continue to validate how REGENT’s high-speed, low-signature, low-cost seagliders will enable defense missions,” said Tom Huntley, VP of Government Relations and Defense at REGENT.

“The second phase of our agreement will demonstrate their use cases for contested logistics operations in the maritime domain, fulfilling a critical national security need.”

The seaglider is an all-electric high-speed vessel that operates exclusively over water to connect coastal destinations. REGENT’s flagship seaglider, Viceroy, is a 12-passenger vessel that travels at up to 180 mph to service routes up to 180 miles.

In January, REGENT broke ground on a manufacturing facility in the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown, which will come online in 2026 and house seaglider component manufacturing, vehicle final assembly, and pre-delivery testing for the Viceroy seaglider.

Earlier this month REGENT began sea trials of its full-scale Viceroy prototype in Narragansett Bay. The company submitted its Viceroy design basis agreement (DBA) with the US Coast Guard, to advance the seaglider maritime certification pathway.  

The DBA establishes what the innovative Viceroy seaglider design must do to show an equivalent level of safety to other similarly sized certified vessels and consists of a concept synopsis, regulatory analysis, and risk/hazard analysis.

The submission follows months of collaboration between REGENT and the US Coast Guard to mature the contents of the DBA and ensure the Viceroy design meets or exceeds required regulatory safety standards.

Approval of the DBA by the US Coast Guard is expected mid-year.