Defense Tech Underground Podcast: Seagliders and the Future of Maritime Defense

‍The below was originally published on Defense Tech Underground

Tom Huntley is the General Manager of REGENT Defense and Vice President of Government Relations at REGENT Craft, a Rhode Island-based company building seagliders, all-electric wing-in-ground-effect vessels designed to move people and cargo at high speed over water for both commercial and defense missions.

Huntley retired from federal service after more than two decades spanning military operations, defense acquisitions, and Congressional appropriations. He served as an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircraft commander and instructor pilot with the U.S. Coast Guard, overseeing search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, and Arctic deployment operations across a 4.5-million-square-mile area of responsibility out of Air Station Kodiak, Alaska. He later worked in the Coast Guard’s Office of Budget and Programs shaping acquisitions strategy, and served as Detailed Professional Staff for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, where he reviewed shipbuilding acquisition budgets and programs. He earned his Master in Public Policy from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, focusing on national security and Arctic governance, and holds an MBA from NYU Stern. He is a graduate of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program.

At REGENT, Huntley leads the company’s defense business and government engagement, working to validate how high-speed, low-signature seagliders can fulfill critical national security missions in the maritime domain.

In this episode of Defense Tech Underground, we sit down with Tom to explore what it takes to build an entirely new class of vehicle from scratch and translate it into real capability for the U.S. military.

Listen to the podcast here