Regent's Squire seaglider hits 130 km/h in tests — and the Pentagon is paying attention
A small autonomous drone just became the first US military wing-in-ground-effect craft to actually fly — and it's pointing toward a future where coastal resupply missions skip the runway entirely. Regent's Squire Seaglider hit 130 km/h (81 mph) during recent tests off Rhode Island, completing its first autonomous flight in April 2026. That milestone puts the drone ahead of Regent's crewed passenger model, the Viceroy, which is still in water trials despite a pre-order book worth more than $10 billion.
Three modes, one craft
The Squire isn't quite a boat and isn't quite a plane. It operates in three distinct modes: sitting in the water like a conventional hull, rising onto hydrofoils to reduce drag, and finally lifting clear of the surface to skim at low altitude using the ground effect — the aerodynamic cushion that forms between a wing and a flat surface. Eight electric motors span a 5.5-meter wing. The craft never climbs high enough to need a traditional aviation certification, which matters: the US Coast Guard, not the FAA, regulates seagliders, and maritime certification could mean faster operator licensing than the aircraft route.
We’re continuing to test and develop our autonomous Seaglider drone, Squire. We’ve proven our max speeds of 70kts – now we’re focused on expanding the platform’s endurance, demonstrating the reliability, resilience, and mission readiness that modern maritime operations demand. pic.twitter.com/PDyS7jiNom
— REGENT (@regentcraft) June 4, 2026
Current range sits at just over 185 km (115 miles), and engineers are focused on extending that. The drone's electric drivetrain also keeps its heat and acoustic signatures low — a meaningful advantage for military operations where staying undetected is the point.
The Pentagon bet
The US Marine Corps has committed roughly $15M to Regent across two contract phases — per REGENT official — covering defense testing, medevac scenarios, and contested-logistics missions in island-chain environments like the Pacific. The timing is deliberate: the Pentagon's unmanned maritime programs have faced public stumbles, including colliding drones and paused contracts, so a clean autonomous flight demo carries extra weight right now.
The commercial version
Squire is the testbed. The commercial payoff, if it arrives, is the 12-passenger Viceroy, targeting 290 km/h (180 mph) and a range of around 290 km (180 miles). Pre-orders already exceed $10 billion, per Autonocion, with first deliveries expected between 2026 and 2027. The challenge between now and then is certification — regulators still need to define exactly what a seaglider is, and flying a few feet above open water at speed demands obstacle-avoidance systems that don't yet exist at commercial scale. Regent's drone milestone proves the physics work. The harder part is making the business work around them.