REGENT electric seaglider company forms Defense Advisory Board of four former senior military leaders

As the Rhode Island-based REGENT all-electric seaglider company dives into work for coastal maritime transportation and high-speed logistics, it formed a Defense Advisory Board consisting of four former senior leaders from the U.S. Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

The former military brass will be tasked with focusing the various defense applications and use cases for REGENT’s seagliders, molding the company’s approach to markets domestically and internationally, and aligning potential product applications with existing high-level strategic guidance.

“We’re thrilled to have this esteemed group supporting and advising REGENT,” Billy Thalheimer, REGENT co-founder & CEO, said. “Their depth of experience, strategic vision, and dedication to ensuring that our nation’s servicemembers have the very best tools and technologies available to them, make each member an invaluable addition to our REGENT team. It’s humbling to have their advocacy and support and to know that REGENT’s seagliders will not only revolutionize coastal transportation but will also play a role in strengthening our national security.”

Members of the board will include General Robert Neller, former Commandant of the Marine Corps (USMC); Admiral Charles Ray, USCG (ret.), former Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard; Lt. Gen. Michael Dana, USMC (ret.) former Deputy Commandant of Installations & Logistics; and Lt. Gen. George Trautman, USMC (ret.) former Deputy Commandant of Aviation.

The seagliders in question here should not be confused with the small, autonomous underwater vehicles of the same name – rather, REGENT’s inaugural product, Viceroy, is capable of carrying either 12 passengers or 3,500 pounds of cargo. Meant to reduce the time and cost of transport between coastal cities, the gliders will be capable of servicing routes up to 180 miles through existing battery technology. However, the company hopes to achieve ranges of up to 500 miles through next-generation batteries.

Together, REGENT hopes its new board members will use their insights to advance its corporate goals and meet the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense for high-speed, low-cost, low-signature, runway-independent mobility along shorelines. While the company ultimately hopes to work with all branches of the U.S. military, it has a special interest in the USMC and Special Operations.

“REGENT’s wing-in-ground effect seagliders have the potential to revolutionize overwater logistics in the littorals,” Trautman said in a statement. “No other technology promises similar range, speed, safety, and payload characteristics in a platform that is electrically powered and environmentally friendly. I can envision military applications for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) variants in the near term and clean sheet options for specific defense-related missions in the future.”