Regent Craft and Fairlead have joined forces to provide the US Navy and Marine Corps with Seaglider solutions for contested logistics and naval resupply.
The two companies are expected to deliver “scalable mil-spec solutions for resilient sea-based logistics, cargo, and intelligence operations” of the US Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Special Operations forces.
Rhode Island-based Regent’s Seagliders use hydrofoiling wing-in-ground-effect technology, which allows vessels to travel just above the water surface for higher speed, extended range, and low radar and acoustic signature. The defense line includes the Viceroy and the Squire.
Fairlead, a Virginia-based maritime manufacturing and systems integration firm, will scale up production, integrate systems, and support the transition of prototypes into operational platforms.
The companies said the Seagliders could be used for troop and supply transport, medical evacuation, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and deployment of uncrewed systems across the Indo-Pacific.
The technology addresses operational gaps for high-speed, low-cost, low-signature, and runway-independent mobility.
Future of US Shipbuilding
With this contract, Regent and Fairlead aim to support the US shipbuilding workforce and infrastructure. Both companies highlighted the potential to create jobs while keeping key defense technologies under US control.
“This partnership is about speed, scale, and resilience as we embark on the future of American shipbuilding,” Regent CEO Billy Thalheimer said.
Fairlead President Fred Pasquine, meanwhile, said that Regent’s Seagliders are a “prime example of technology that will revolutionize US maritime defense operations.”
“Fairlead is committed to backing the entrepreneurs and technologies that will strengthen readiness, resilience, and innovation across the US Navy and Department of War,” he said.
This is not a new relationship between the US and Regent, which has previously secured at least $10 million in contracts with the US Marine Corps.
