NORTH KINGSTOWN – Regent Craft Inc., a Quonset-based startup developing “seaglider” transportation technology, is expanding its reach into the defense manufacturing sphere with a recently announced investment from Lockheed Martin Corp.
“We see defense strategy evolving toward an island-hopping force featuring agile, affordable, and distributed craft,” Regent CEO and co-founder Billy Thalheimer said in a statement.
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The investment, of an undisclosed value, “is a strong signal that seagliders can fill this immediate need in the high-priority missions faced by our Department of Defense,” he continued.
The seaglider is a fully electric, passenger-carrying craft that flies within one wingspan of the water’s surface.
In a statement, Chris Moran, vice president of Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture capital arm of Lockheed Martin Corp., said the defense manufacturing company believes that Regent’s seagliders “can bring tailored solutions to the future battlespace,” and that the investment “reflects our commitment to innovating technologies that have the potential to transform the way we adapt to our customer’s needs and support mission success.”
Regent was founded in Burlington, Mass., and moved its headquarters to Quonset Business Park last year, following a $13 million tax credit approval from the R.I. Commerce Corp. The company committed to creating 300 new jobs in Rhode Island over a decadelong period to qualify for the tax credits.
In February, the company said it had raised more than $45 million and secured partnerships with companies such as Hawaiian Airlines and the Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, and was nearing 40 employees.
As of late March, Regent reported $7.9 billion in orders from “major airlines and leading ferry operators” across five continents.
The company sent a seaglider on its inaugural flight over Narragansett Bay in fall 2022 and expects to begin trials with human passengers next year. Commercialization is slated for 2025.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
