REGENT is building electric seagliders that merge the best of boats and planes, operating on a cushion of air over the water known as ground effect. CEO Billy Thalheimer explains how this innovative technology allows for super-efficient, silent travel at speeds up to 180 MPH, overcoming traditional limitations of electric aviation. Discover how seagliders are poised to transform regional travel, coastal logistics, and even military missions with $5 billion in orders already secured.
REGENT, a Rhode Island-based startup building battery-electric “seagliders,” has accumulated $5 billion in orders for a craft that operates in three modes — float, foil, and fly — and is regulated as a maritime vessel rather than an aircraft. The order book spans ferry operators, airlines, oil-and-gas companies, and luxury travel customers, with first commercial deliveries targeted for late 2027 or early 2028, CEO and co-founder Billy Thalheimer said in a recent interview.
The distinction matters for logistics: because seagliders stay within one wingspan of the water surface at all times, the International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization classify them as wing-in-ground craft, putting the U.S. Coast Guard — not the FAA — in the primary certification seat. That regulatory path, Thalheimer argues, is faster and better suited to the vehicle’s operating environment than traditional aviation certification.
The commercial variant, called the Viceroy, is a 15,000-pound craft carrying 12 passengers and two crew. It cruises at roughly 180 mph and has a battery-electric range of about 180 miles. A hybrid variant aimed at defense customers is in development and would extend range to approximately 1,600 statute miles — enough to hop between Pacific island chains for logistics, medevac, and sensor missions.
“We will service those. We can do some of the American island chains — Caribbean, Puerto Rico, stuff like that. Alaska, places where you don’t have these sort of rush services. But then internationally, we can service every single coastline,” Thalheimer said.
The logistics pitch centers on underserved island and coastal markets where next-day delivery infrastructure is thin or nonexistent. Thalheimer noted that Prime-style shipping does not reach several Hawaiian islands and is largely absent in island chains worldwide. Because the craft can use existing docks and ports, ferry operators can adopt it without building new shore infrastructure.
On the Jones Act question — a perennial friction point in U.S. coastal freight — Thalheimer said REGENT is already in compliance. The company just opened a quarter-million-square-foot factory in Rhode Island, meaning the vehicles will be U.S.-built from the start. “We view it as a requirement and something we are doing anyways,” he said. U.S. operations will also use American-owned vessels and American crews, satisfying the cabotage law’s conditions.
Takeoff is engineered to occur at around 50 mph using a “blown wing” system — small propellers distributed across the wing that force high-speed prop wash over the surface, generating lift at low airspeed. The craft then climbs to a cruising altitude of about 30 feet above the water. Triple-redundant fly-by-wire flight control systems handle pitch, roll, and altitude automatically; operators input only left, right, faster, and slower. REGENT plans to begin sea trials and commercial operations in 2028 after moving production tooling into the new factory and completing Coast Guard certification.
- REGENT has $5 billion in orders for its Viceroy seaglider, with commercial deliveries planned for late 2027 or early 2028.
- The 15,000-pound, 12-passenger craft has a 180-mile battery-electric range; a hybrid defense variant targets 1,600 statute miles.
- Regulated as a maritime vessel by the Coast Guard, REGENT’s U.S.-built craft is structured to comply with Jones Act requirements from launch.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
