Editor’s Brief

Last Week, we looked at Blackstar Orbital and their claim to the world’s first tactically responsive space drone for national security and defense. With U.S. Space Command preparing to relocate to Huntsville, AL, the race for resilient space capabilities is only accelerating.

This week we look at REGENT Defense and their new take on contested maritime transportation.

Special thanks to Co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer for taking time to chat all things REGENT

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SIGNAL BRIEF: REGENT Defense - Speed Above the Waves

REGENT Defense is building for a new class of maritime mobility: high-speed, efficient, and low-signature craft that skim just above the waves. The flagship Viceroy aligns with urgent DoD modernization priorities from contested logistics to ISR and MEDEVAC, capabilities especially critical in the Indo-Pacific.

Origins & Vision

Founded in December 2020 by Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker, REGENT Craft’s original goal was to transform regional coastal transportation, drastically improving efficiency and accessibility. Thalheimer brought experience from electric aircraft at Aurora Flight Sciences, while Klinker’s background spanned autonomous systems at MIT Lincoln Labs and UAV development.

Quarter-scale prototype flights in September 2022 helped propel REGENT’s order book from $600M to $10B in just four years, with airlines and ferry operators across six continents placing orders. This commercial traction laid the foundation for defense engagement.

In October 2023, REGENT won a $4.75M Marine Corps Warfighting Lab contract, extended to an estimated $10M in March 2025. In July 2025, the company formally launched REGENT Defense at the Reindustrialize summit.

Key Takeaways

• Dual-Use Advantage: A $10B commercial backlog provides scale and validation, accelerating defense adoption beyond what pure military programs typically achieve.

• DoD Momentum: Marine Corps trials and a $10M extension mark the shift from concept to operational evaluation, with SOCOM and the Coast Guard now engaged

• Production at Scale: A 255,000 sq. ft. Rhode Island facility (2026) and a UAE joint venture lay the groundwork for commercial and defense manufacturing.

• Contested Littoral Design: Deep-V hull, hydrofoils, and “blown wing” distributed propulsion enable ultra-slow takeoffs and landings in Sea State 4, unlocking open-water operations vital to Indo-Pacific missions.

Tech Radar:

Viceroy Seaglider – Maritime Speed Redefined

The Viceroy is REGENT's flagship 12-passenger platform, designed to operate in three modes: floating on its deep-V hull near docks, hydrofoiling at speed, and flying in ground effect just above the waves.

Key Capabilities

• High-Speed Maritime Transit – 160-knot cruise; hybrid variant range of 1,400 nautical miles

• Low Observable Profile – Sea-skimming flight path above sonar and below radar

• Electric Propulsion – Zero-emission operation with ~30 dB noise reduction vs. helicopters

• Modular Payload Bay – 3,500-pound capacity with large cargo door for diverse missions

Defense Product Portfolio

• Crewed Military Viceroy: Hardened commercial platform with integrated military comms

• Autonomous Viceroy: Fully uncrewed with perception systems for traffic and wave-state assessment

• Squire Seaglider: Quarter-scale uncrewed craft, 80 knots over 100+ nm, designed for reconnaissance and launched effects

In practice, these capabilities mean high-speed logistics, ISR, and MEDEVAC missions inside contested littorals without relying on vulnerable bases or carriers.

Market Signals

Funding & Growth

• Total Funding: >$100M over 2 rounds

• Latest Round: $60M Series A (Oct 2023)

• Notable Investors: Founders Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures, In-Q-Tel, 8090 Industries, Valor Equity Partners, Mark Cuban, Caffeinated Capital, Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines Innovation Fund

• Valuation: Undisclosed

• Commercial Backlog Growth: $600M (2021) → $7B (2022) → $10B+ (2025)

Contracts & Government Traction

• Marine Corps Phase 1: $4.75M demonstration with 12 deliverables, completed March 2025 with full-scale sea trials

• Marine Corps Phase 2: Estimated $10M extension through 2026 for contested logistics, ISR, MEDEVAC

• SOCOM: Exploring infiltration and logistics applications

• U.S. Coast Guard: Research and Development Center engagement

Looking Ahead

During WWII, flying boats like the PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner rescued downed airmen, hunted submarines, and scouted enemy fleets.  Their endurance and flexibility gave commanders freedom of maneuver across an oceanic theater without reliance on fixed infrastructure. 

One of my favorite examples came in the Aleutian campaign. 

Lieutenant George Smith of VPB-43 piloted a PBY over 600 miles into hostile waters to rescue six B-24 crewmen who had been shot down just 75 miles from a Japanese base. His Distinguished Flying Cross citation recorded the conditions plainly: “Weather, distance, and the constant threat of enemy aircraft and submarines made the mission extraordinarily hazardous.”
(George Smith, incidentally, is my Great-Grandfather)

By the 1950s, however, the rise of carrier aviation, long concrete runways, and the nuclear triad pushed flying boats aside. The very infrastructure they once bypassed became the foundation of American power projection.

Today, that foundation looks fragile. China can strike every U.S. base inside the Second Island Chain, while carrier strike groups are tracked and targeted by long-range “carrier killer” missiles

At the same time, thousands of islands scattered across vast distances create daunting logistics challenges. Asian navies like Japan still operate amphibious aircraft precisely because they remain cost-effective and flexible in archipelagic environments.

Which is where REGENT’s Viceroy comes in. While not classified as an aircraft, it combines aircraft-like performance with maritime flexibility. Flying above sonar, below radar, and operating from nearly any shoreline. 

A fleet of seagliders would complicate Chinese targeting, provide persistent ISR and resupply inside the missile envelope, and sustain Marines in places like the Philippines, Okinawa, and Micronesia. By distributing logistics across dozens of small, mobile nodes, but with the speed of aircraft, they give U.S. forces the ability to fight and maneuver in contested littorals.

Just as Catalina’s once gave commanders reach in WWII, REGENT’s Viceroy could be the Navy’s new “eyes of the fleet” for the Indo-Pacific fight ahead.

Challenges

• Combat Durability: The Seaglider must prove it can survive electronic warfare and kinetic threats

• Manufacturing Scale-Up: Moving from prototype to serial production while controlling cost and quality targets

• Mission Integration: Demonstrating interoperability with Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard concepts of operations to secure program-of-record adoption

Bottom Line:

The Pacific’s tyranny of distance has long challenged American forces. In the 1940s, flying boats enabled the Allies to “leapfrog” forward using remote anchorages and even open water for staging, reconnaissance, and the movement of personnel and materiel.

Today, that advantage could come from REGENT’s seagliders.  Flying just above the waves, beyond sonar and below radar, they combine aircraft-like speed with maritime flexibility.  They can sustain Marines deep inside contested zones, and distribute logistics across dozens of small, mobile nodes and launch from almost any shoreline.  

REGENT Defense is building a 21st-century answer to the oldest problem in maritime warfighting: how to move faster and more flexibly across the sea.

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