By Robbin Laird

Technologies and actions by our strategic competitors are dramatically reshaping maritime security and defense strategy, particularly in the Black, Red, & South China Seas.  Littoral operations are being significantly recalibrated by multiple technological advancements while simultaneously being compounded by the actions of strategic competitors. These battlefield advances are stressing traditional capital ship assets and putting them constantly at risk, necessitating that the U.S. and allied forces to look for alternatives.

Recently, I spoke with my friend and colleague Lieutenant General (Retired) Preziosa, about various strategic developments. As we did so, he posed the following question: “Do you think that recent events in the Red Sea indicate the end of legacy maritime operations and the role of surface ships in enforcing order in the littorals?”

Perhaps one could accuse him of bias in posing the question as he is an ex-Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force and thus he might have a propensity to advocate for air power as the default technological solution, but frankly his question is dead on. Without a doubt, the Red Sea maritime attacks carried out by the Houthis targeting both military and civilian surface assets, combined with the nefarious actions by their Iranian backers, have changed the calculus of traditional littoral operations. These facts, taken in the larger context of malicious Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Russian aggression in the Black Sea, and numerous actors encroaching on the maritime rules-based-order the world over, require an examination of our legacy maritime strategy – one that dates to the Second World War.

In my recently published book, The Coming of Maritime Autonomous Systems: Empowering and Enhancing the Kill Web Force, I wrote extensively about new technologies, including maritime autonomous systems, that are dramatically impacting both offensive and defensive littoral operations.

Today, I would like to examine another emerging technology that could fundamentally change littoral operations.

There is a new generation of vessels that operate on the surface with hydrofoils and then become airborne but remain low over the water. Upon first sight, some might mistakenly call these vehicles seaplanes, but in fact they are wing-in-ground craft and are classified as vessels. These vessels always operate in the maritime environment within a wingspan of the surface, which, due to the greatly increased aerodynamic efficiencies at that low altitude, vastly increases their ability to operate at high-speed while increasing range while reducing detectable acoustic, radar, and IR signatures. These dual-use vessels, equally effective at commercial passenger transport as they are in ISR and contested logistics, are collectively known as “seagliders.”

The need for operational advances in the littorals is not unique to the U.S.

In a piece by  Royal Australian Air Force officer Joakim Siira published by the William’s Foundation, Siira highlights the need for the “rebirth” of high-speed maritime-based aviation assets for Australian littoral operations. While he was referring specifically to seaplanes in his piece, Sirra’s point is even more applicable to the adoption of seagliders.

There are two considerations to this worth exploring in the context of modern military seaplanes.

The first is impermanence.

Simply put, no RAAF aircraft can rescue anyone from the water. A P-8A can deliver life-saving equipment for the crew of a sunken vessel, loiter overhead for hours, and relay information to surface vessels, but sooner or later, it needs to return to a purpose-built, kilometers-long length of strengthened concrete to land. They can help, but they cannot affect the rescue.

The RAN’s Seahawk helicopters can, but they are tied to their frigates, and if said ship is outside the Seahawk’s maximum range, they are also of no use until getting closer – at the frigate’s maximum speed of 27kts. If there is a time-critical element to a situation, speed of response is a decisive factor. This may be either in the case of a downed aircraft, a sinking ship, or in the aftermath of a natural disaster, all where exposure to the elements is a killer.

A seaplane combines the mobility of a fixed-wing aircraft with the ability of a ship to operate on the water and remove people from danger.

The second consideration is the impermanence of infrastructure.

As noted in the Air and Space Centre’s article ‘Airbases: Now. Then. Always’ climate change is a significant risk to not just Australian airports but those of our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. The 2011 and 2022 floods both necessitated RAAF platforms to operate out of RAAF Bases Amberley and Richmond, with extreme weather events and sea levels only predicted to increase by the year 2090.

With an increasing frequency of extreme weather events and consistent flooding of two of six of our operational airbases likely to continue, there will continue to be massive strategic consequences. The RAAF and ADF will not be able to fulfill their obligations to support the nation and the region if critical infrastructure is out of action. It’s possible the aforementioned runway works at Cocos Island may be finished just in time to become redundant.

Seagliders can be used with other evolving platform technologies in a variety of innovative missions to support a distributed force operating in the littorals.  Included in potential mission sets are operations in and around contested areas, maintaining logistics and executing counter-logistics missions, infiltration and exfiltration of maritime and special operating forces, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), casualty evacuation, command and control, direct action, combat support, and combat service support.

Seagliders are not just an idea for a distant future – they are being designed and built today by a company based in Rhode Island. REGENT Craft’s two variants – Viceroy & Monarch – are electric-powered vessels built to introduce this capability to civilian, military, and security forces. The twelve passenger Viceroy has a gross vehicle weight of 15,000 pounds and a 65-foot wingspan, with a range of 180 miles at speeds of 180 mph. The larger Monarch is expected to enter service by the turn of the decade and boasts a gross weight of 100,000 pounds and a 100-foot wingspan a with 400-mile range.  With technological advances in battery efficiency improving by 5% to 7% annually, vehicle range will continue to increase year over year. In the commercial market, seagliders offer a low-cost yet highly efficient coastal transportation solution by connecting coastal communities with high-speed optionality. In the defense market, seagliders provide low-signature, high speed mission critical transport in littoral environments without the vulnerabilities of shore infrastructure or a fuel supply chain.

An electric-powered seaglider has many advantages over a conventionally powered seaplane, especially in the littorals where low noise and low radar signature are essential to mission success. Additionally, the vessels do not generate Infrared plumes, which could be picked up by adversarial ISR systems similar to legacy craft powered by conventional fuels.

In September 2024, I had a chance to speak with the CEO of REGENT Craft, Billy Thalheimer, to discuss this new company and to get his perspective on the commercial market as well as military uses of the new platform.

“Forty percent of the world lives in coastal communities,” Thalheimer told me. “In the commercial market, a seaglider can provide a much more rapid and cost-effective solution than traditional modes of transportation. Similarly, in the defense market, electrification dramatically reduces maintenance requirements, which in turn significantly reduces lifecycle costs.”

He continued, “We are the OEM for the seaglider, and provide not only the platform but also aftermarket maintenance and crew training support as well. The natural commercial markets for our product are airline and ferry companies and we already have more than 600 seagliders on order valued at over $9 billion. Additionally, we have a $4.75 million contract with the U.S. Marine Corps for prototype development, and we’ve raised over $90 million in venture capital”

This is a critical point as the U.S. and allies look to dual-use technologies for mission effective solutions. The robust production of seagliders for the commercial market makes them a cost-effective product for the defense market, putting downward pricing pressure on both capital expenditure as well as maintenance support costs.

Billy noted, “With the launch product, we can carry 12 passengers or 3500 pounds of payload, which is 1000 pounds more than a Cessna Caravan aircraft can carry which has similar capacity. Our operating cost is less than $1000 per hour and is nearly 60% lower than the Caravan.”

Additionally, he pointed out that the United States Coast Guard regulates seaglider operations and certification. Since seagliders are legally defined in both U.S. code and international treaty as vessels rather than airplanes, the operators of the seaglider are not pilots but instead are specially trained credentialed mariners.

“We are under maritime jurisdiction. The crew are boat captains and are not pilots. From a defense perspective, you are getting aircraft-like performance and logistics capability out of a platform that does not require to be operated by an officer who must go through a 2-year training pathway. We plan to train our captains over 12 weeks.”

Billy went on to describe the specific operations of the seaglider. “You drive this platform just like a traditional boat, and the mode transitions between floating, foiling, and flying are controlled by the triple redundant flight software and the flight control system on the vehicle. Importantly, the operator inputs vessel controls – left and right; fast and slow.”

Given the dual-use nature, this high-speed, low-signature maritime platform is essential for the new and evolving demands of littoral operations. Seagliders provide capacity for operations in a contested maritime environment in which conventional surface vessels may be in great danger.

Given the changing dynamic of capital ship vulnerability coupled with the potential for conflict in the littorals, seagliders present an affordable, reliable, and readily available solution for today’s combined and joint forces.

As such, seagliders may well contribute to mission success in this new and dynamic environment, where the allied effort must leverage low cost, highly effective platforms –  rather than relying on capital ships alone.

Editor’s Note: The REGENT video below provides a projection of how their seaglider might contribute to defense operations.