New Capabilities for Littoral Security and Military Operations: The Case for Seagliders

01/02/2025

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.”

An artist’s rendering of this seaglider provides an initial view of the vessel and its unique distributed propulsion configuration.

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.

 

MQ-9 Training

U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, conduct an MQ-9 training flight as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-25 at Laguna Army Airfield, Arizona, Oct. 5, 2024. WTI course is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine aviation in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, Joint and Coalition Forces.

10.05.2024

Video by Cpl. Nicholas Johnson 

Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1

Exercise Formosa

12/30/2024

U.S. Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment and Marines with 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company are hosted by the Brazilian Marine Corps in support of Brazilian Marines Corps infantry training Exercise Formosa Sept. 6-21, 2024, in Formosa, Brazil. U.S. Marine Corps participation in Exercise Formosa, a key event in the military cooperation between the two nations.

FORMOSA, GOIáS, BRAZIL

09.21.2024

Video by Cpl. Aaron TorresLemus 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South

B-2 in Australia

Three U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers preparing for takeoff and departing for a final Bomber Task Force mission at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia, Sept. 13, 2024. Bomber missions contribute to joint force lethality and deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by demonstrating USAF ability to operate anywhere in the world at any time in support of the National Defense Strategy.

RAAF BASE AMBERLEY, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

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Video by Staff Sgt. Whitney Erhart 

131st Bomb Wing

High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Training

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U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One conduct a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Infiltration exercise as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-25, at Dugway Proving Ground, Dugway, Utah, Oct. 9, 2024. Weapons and Tactics Instructor course is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1 which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine aviation in support of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, Joint and Coalition Forces.

DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, UTAH

10.09.2024

Video by Cpl. Alejandro Fernandez 

Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1  

334th FGS helps Generate Night Sorties

12/26/2024

The 334th Fighter Generation Squadron helps enable F-15E Strike Eagle training for aircrew during “Super Nights,” generating night sorties in support of readiness and AirPower at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, during the first half of October 2024.

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE

10.03.2024

Video by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal 

4th Fighter Wing   

HMH-462 in Support of Stand In Force

12/23/2024

U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 462, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct air assaults in support of Service Level Training Exercise 5-24 at Camp Wilson, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Aug. 13, 2024. SLTE 5-24 is built to train, develop, and validate the Infantry Battalion Experiment as part of a larger Marine Air-Ground Task Force operation as a Stand-In Force across a contested multi-domain distributed environment.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA

08.13.2024

Video by Lance Cpl. Richard PerezGarcia

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

Technology and Changing Concepts of Operations: Transforming Military Vehicle Architecture

12/21/2024

By Pierre Tran

LIMOGES, France – Texelis, a builder of powertrains for armored vehicles, was working on an 18-month feasibility study for an electric hub drive to power hybrid diesel/electric vehicles, said Marin Tollet, marketing and communications director.

The feasibility study ran to the end of 2025, he said December 11 on a press tour comprising the correspondent and two student journalists. The press tour included a visit of the company’s factory here, central France, some 3-1/2 hours by train from Paris. There was also a ride in a French army Serval, a light armored troop carrier powered by a conventional diesel engine. Texelis supplies the powertrain, or mobility package, as a joint prime contractor for the vehicle, built by the joint prime contractor partner, KNDS France.

A French army general was due to visit the factory that week, travelling from the capital.

That feasibility study showed “there is interest in the solution,” Tollet said.

The proposed solution consisted of fitting a highly compact electric engine in each wheel, which allowed a smaller diesel motor to be fitted to an armored vehicle. The former was seen as cutting dependence on the latter, and boosting performance.

That new technology could be seen as potentially changing the concept of operations, an analyst said.

Texelis saw the switch to more electric power as transforming vehicle architecture, fielding combat vehicles with lower profile and greater silence, capable of stealth and speed.

The feasibility study looked at fitting the in-wheel electric hub drive on the four-wheel drive Serval, but the technology could be fitted to other types of vehicles, Tollet said.

The Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) procurement office was expected to order a technology demonstrator to test the proof of concept, after submission of the study. There was also the French army’s STAT office which specializes in the review of technology and operational needs of the service.

Texelis has bought the technology licence for the electric hub drive from Qinetiq. Qinetiq was the British partner which designed the “core electrification” for the hub drive technology. Texelis and Qinetiq entered a “strategic partnership” to design and build the electric hub drive technology for the military armored vehicle market, the companies said in a joint statement May 18, 2021.

Two students from the Strasbourg school of journalism were on the press visit, filming their documentary on European defense. Visitors were required to wear bright orange reflective vests and protective shoes, after being cleared through security.

The 35,000 square meter plant, previously an arsenal for the French air force, was large enough to build three to five times the present output of powertrains, Tollet said. The company delivered some 120 Serval mobility packages a year, and expected production to rise to 160 in 2026, out to 2030 for the French army. That forecast was based on the 2024-2030 LPM multi-year military budget law.

After the visit of the vast factory, there was a drive with two French army drivers in a Serval in the wooded grounds of a large country house just outside the city. The ride and suspension were clearly for a combat vehicle not of a limousine.

Water dripped from the roof of the vehicle on the right hand side, and a pool of water lay on the driver’s side of the front compartment.

Hybrid Technology

There has been lively interest in applying hybrid technology to military vehicles, with the French manufacturer Arquus developing its Scarabée, a light armored vehicle demonstrator with a diesel/electric engine.

The DGA has awarded at least three research contracts on the Scarabée, specialist website Zone Militaire reported. These studies included the Electer project on hybrid propulsion, Optifab on high grade armor, and Numco, a predictive maintenance system.

Arquus has a plant, with a water tower bearing the company name, next to the Texelis factory.
The previous prime minister, Michel Barnier, visited the Texelis factory Nov. 29, accompanied by four ministers, including the industry minister. Barnier resigned Dec. 5 after just three months in office, after opposition parties rejected his draft 2025 budget and he lost a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

Seeking Export Sales

Texelis, much like many other French companies, was seeking foreign sales, helped by a domestic order.

“Serval gives them a good deal of assurance,” said Marc Chassillan, a specialist in military land systems. “Beyond that, they must win in exports.”

The company was selling an export version of the Serval mobility package, dubbed Celeris.

Texelis hoped to strike a direct partnership with a foreign government, Tollet said. The firm  worked with local industrial partners, which fitted the powertrains locally.

The company saw Southeast Asia as a key region, with Indonesia a prime country market.

Texelis won a contract toward the end of 2023 to supply a Celeris mobility package to its Indonesian partner, PT Sentra Surya Ekajaya, or PT SSE. SSE assembled these packages into its P2 Tiger armored personnel carrier for the Indonesian special forces.

Those Indonesian vehicles were previously equipped with Russian-built powertrains, Tollet said. The P2 Tiger was seen as escort vehicle for the French-built Caesar truck-mounted artillery operated by the Indonesian army.

Texelis would attend the Indo Defence trade show to be held in Jakarta. That show had been postponed to January 2025 from November 2024, as a new president took up office in October.

Prabowo Subianto, a former defense minister, was sworn in as president of Indonesia in October. Prabowo is a former general and ex-special forces commander. Washington had previously banned him from travelling to the U.S., reflecting concerns over alleged human rights abuse, which were unproven and which Prabowo has denied, Reuters reported.

Indonesia is a critical market for France. Jakarta ordered in February 2022 42 Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jets and missiles, in an arms deal worth $8.1 billion. The then defense minister, Florence Parly, said on social media Jakarta had also announced a plan to order two Scorpene diesel/electric attack submarines from Naval Group, a French shipbuilder.

Jakarta’s order for 34 KNDS France Caesar 155 mm 52 caliber cannon dates back to 2012, in  €108 million deal financed by a commercial bank loan for under five years and an interest rate below 200 basis points.  A basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point and is keyed to a benchmark rate such as the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR).
Jakarta in 2014 ordered from the Thales U.K. unit the Starstreak short-range, surface-to-air missile, in a deal worth over £100 million ($127 million).

On the other side of the Pacific, Texelis has partnered with Inkas, with the Canadian company building what it called “special purpose vehicles,” which included armored personnel carriers and tactical armored vehicles.

It was rare for a European company to be a supplier in North America, Tollet said.

To Tracked Vehicles

The French company has expanded into supplying drivelines for tracked vehicles, signing up with Milrem Robotics, an Estonian builder of uncrewed vehicles.

Milrem has picked Texelis as a “strategic supplier” of mobility subsystems for development of a new generation of robotic combat vehicles (RCVs), the Tallinn-based company said in a Nov. 21 statement.

“Texelis will supply Milrem Robotics with a cutting-edge Tank Electrified Drivetrain to assist in creating highly capable, modular, 12+ ton robotic platforms designed to meet the demands of modern warfare,” the Estonian company said.

Texelis is the joint prime contractor with KNDS France, formerly known as Nexter, on the Serval, a light version of the VBMR Griffon, a heavy multi-role armored vehicle. There will be some 35 versions of the Serval. The Serval and Griffin will replace the venerable VAB, an armored personnel carrier of some 40 years service.

The Griffon, Jaguar combat and reconnaissance vehicle, Serval, and SICS communications network are the main elements of the French army’s Scorpion modernization program. There is also MEPC, a 120mm mortar version of Griffon.

Staff Wanted

The company employed some 350 staff, with a spread of experience.

The company recently recruited a young woman for sales and marketing, including seeking leads for export prospects. The new recruit had just graduated from a Paris university and had completed a Master’s dissertation of some 40 pages on difficulties of small and medium sized companies in the arms sector. She had pursued her studies alongside a work internship with Arquus, and through the graduate network she had applied for a post at Texelis.

There was also a 40-year old man who worked as a mechanic and had helped draft the service manual for the Serval. He had joined the company, then part of the Renault trucks company, some 20 years ago, having left secondary school with little to show in academic qualification. The mechanic, who had worked on the civil and military side of the company, would take phone calls from army personnel needing help on the Serval.

Texelis invested €1.4 million ($1.5 million) in the Limoges factory last year, and was spending a further €2.1 million over 2024-2025, the company said. That investment included 3D scanning and production. The company recruited 25 staff this year.

The medium-sized company expected to increase 2024 sales to €120 million, up €10 million from 2023.

The privately held company supplies the Serval powertrain, or mobility package, which includes a Cummins engine, Allison gearbox, Michelin tires, suspension, and axles.

Texelis ships the packages to Roanne, central France, where KNDS France assembles the VBMR-L armored vehicle. The Roanne plant also assembles the Griffon and Jaguar, and ships the three vehicles to the DGA, which sends them to the army.

There are some 20 Texelis staff at the KNDS Roanne plant.

Texelis has an office at Lyon, seen as convenient transport hub for Paris. Limoges also has a small regional airport, seen as convenient for the French army TBM light turboprop plane.

The Serval program was expected to create more than 600 jobs by 2025, the armed forces ministry said March 7.

For an earlier story on Texelis, see the following:

A Look at Texelis: French Builder of Mobility Packages for Armored Vehicles