Lockheed Martin invests in Rhode Island seaglider start up. Here's what they're building.
North Kingstown-based electric "seaglider" startup Regent Craft is now backed by the investment arm of defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, the companies announced Wednesday.
Regent, which moved to Rhode Island from Burlington, Massachusetts last year, is developing a new type of passenger boat-plane hybrid that can take off from and fly low along the surface of the water.
Regent markets its seagliders as an alternative to commercial aviation and ferries for coastal areas, but the Lockheed Martin Ventures investment points to significant interest from military customers.
"We see defense strategy evolving toward an island-hopping force featuring agile, affordable, and distributed craft,” Regent CEO Billy Thalheimer said in a news release. “This investment is a strong signal that seagliders can fill this immediate need in the high-priority missions faced by our Department of Defense."
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Regent declined to provide further details of the investment, including how much money is involved.
Regent says it has orders for over 400 seagliders worth more than $7.9 billion.
Last June the state Commerce Corporation approved up to $13 million in tax credits for Regent. The company pledged to create 300 full-time jobs by 2028 and spend $367 million building a new facility at Quonset.
“We believe that Regent seagliders can bring tailored solutions to the future battlespace," Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures said in the news release. “This 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 is working on a full-scale prototype of its seaglider and plans to have a 12-passenger model ready for customers " by mid-decade"
The seaglider will operate only over water and combine the speed of an airplane -- up to 180 miles per hour -- with the low cost of a boat, Regent says.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Lockheed Martin invests in Regent Craft for military seagliders
