REGENT, a Rhode Island-based startup, has built the Viceroy, a 55-foot electric seaglider designed to carry 12 passengers at 180 miles per hour across coastal routes, with over $10 billion in commercial orders already booked. Unlike traditional eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft that face years of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, the Viceroy operates as a maritime vessel, allowing the company to bring a 15,000-pound electric flying machine to market potentially by 2027 rather than the 2040s.

What Makes the Viceroy Different From Other Flying Vehicles?

The Viceroy is a wing-in-ground-effect craft, which means it flies just inches above the water surface, using the cushion of air trapped between its wing and the water to generate extra lift. This design choice fundamentally changes how the vehicle operates and how it gets regulated. Rather than climbing into the sky like a traditional aircraft, the Viceroy stays within one wingspan of the water throughout its journey, which is why the U.S. Coast Guard and Lloyd's Register classify it as a maritime vessel rather than an aircraft.

The practical advantages of this approach are substantial. By flying in ground effect, the Viceroy can travel roughly twice as far as a comparable electric aircraft on the same battery capacity. REGENT projects the craft will eventually achieve 400 to 500 miles of range once next-generation battery cells become available, compared to today's 180-mile capability.

How Does the Viceroy Transition From Water to Flight?

The vehicle operates in three distinct stages during a typical journey. At the dock, it floats like a conventional boat on its hull. As it accelerates leaving the harbor, retractable hydrofoils lift the hull clear of the water chop for a smoother, faster ride, with REGENT targeting foiling speeds around 50 knots, roughly double what production hydrofoil boats currently achieve. Once in open water, the foils retract and the craft accelerates onto its wing, cruising within one wingspan of the surface for the remainder of the journey.

• Dock Phase: The Viceroy floats on its hull like any other boat, allowing passengers to board at conventional ferry terminals without special infrastructure.
• Foiling Phase: Retractable hydrofoils lift the hull clear of choppy water, providing a smoother ride at speeds around 50 knots as the craft accelerates toward open water.
• Wing-in-Ground-Effect Phase: The foils retract and the craft cruises just inches above the water surface, achieving speeds up to 180 miles per hour without ever leaving the water's vicinity.

Why Does Regulatory Classification Matter So Much?

The distinction between maritime and aircraft classification sounds like paperwork, but it represents a fundamental difference in timelines. Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, the two leading American eVTOL companies, are still grinding through the FAA's multi-stage type-certification process, a path that could take years or even decades to complete. By routing around the FAA and using maritime certification instead, REGENT can bring its electric flying machine to market on a dramatically accelerated timeline.

This regulatory advantage also influenced REGENT's technology choices. The company chose to power the Viceroy with batteries rather than hydrogen, a decision that sidesteps the cooling and certification headaches that plague hydrogen-powered aircraft projects. Founders Billy Thalheimer and Chief Technology Officer Mike Klinker, both MIT-trained aerospace engineers with Boeing experience, clearly evaluated this tradeoff early in the design process.

What Is the Commercial Case for Coastal Electric Travel?

REGENT pitches the Viceroy as six to ten times faster than a traditional ferry and about half the cost of a regional aircraft, while eliminating airport overhead, security lines, and emissions. On a 100 to 200-mile coastal hop, the company argues that passengers spend less time getting to and from the airport than they would simply riding the seaglider dock to dock.

The order book demonstrates real commercial interest. In January, a U.S. private members' club called XXV ordered 30 Viceroys for premium East Coast routes starting in 2027, connecting destinations like New York to the Hamptons and Boston to Nantucket. UrbanLink has lined up service in South Florida and Puerto Rico, while the German operator FRS signed on years ago. WIRED named REGENT one of its top electric-vehicle companies of 2026.

What Is REGENT's Defense Strategy?

Beyond commercial passenger service, REGENT has developed a dedicated defense arm that has attracted significant military interest. The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab has been a customer since 2025, starting with an initial $4.75 million feasibility contract that has since grown to a total of $15 million. Last November, REGENT ran beach-extraction and open-water rescue demonstrations aimed at medical and casualty evacuation missions.

The military logic is clear: a craft that skims the water under radar, runs near-silent on electric motors, and hops between islands at 180 miles per hour aligns perfectly with the Pentagon's shifting focus toward the Indo-Pacific and the challenge of moving troops and supplies across long island chains. REGENT is also developing an uncrewed version called Squire, an autonomous seaglider drone. On April 13, 2026, Squire completed its first ground-effect flight, which the company says is the first time a defense-specific wing-in-ground-effect craft has flown in the United States.

"A craft that skims the water under radar, runs near-silent on electric motors and hops between islands at 180 mph is exactly the kind of platform the Pentagon has started thinking about again," noted the company in describing its defense applications.

REGENT, Defense Program Leadership

What Milestones Remain Before Commercial Service?

Despite the impressive order book and military contracts, the Viceroy has not yet flown in wing-in-ground-effect mode with people on board. The prototype, christened Paladin, has completed float-mode tests and a crewed foiling run in Narragansett Bay since March 2025, but the full airborne flight has slipped from its original mid-2025 target. REGENT now frames the first crewed flight as a 2026 milestone, with customer deliveries as early as 2027.

The autonomous Squire flight in April provides real flight-test data, but the passenger vehicle's flying phase remains on the schedule rather than in the logbook. REGENT is building a 255,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown, expected to come online this year, in a region that already houses defense and marine heavyweights like General Dynamics Electric Boat and Anduril.

The company has backing from major investors including Lockheed Martin, Founders Fund, and Japan Airlines, with over $100 million invested to date. However, clean-transport hardware has a history of looking finished long before it actually is, and the gap between a bold powertrain on paper and a working one at the dock remains significant. Still, REGENT is making a specific bet: that a vehicle faster than a ferry, cheaper than an aircraft, and cleaner than both can pull paying passengers across America's coasts within the next year or two.