Defense Tech Underground #017
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.
We cover:
Seagliders and the Squire platform — what REGENT is building, how the 12-passenger Viceroy and the autonomous Squire drone work across float, foil, and fly modes, and how Squire serves as a testbed to de-risk and accelerate development of full-scale seagliders.
Marine Corps Warfighting Lab collaboration — what REGENT proved in its initial $4.75 million contract with MCWL that unlocked an expanded agreement on the order of $10 million, and how seagliders are being evaluated for contested logistics, medevac, and reconnaissance missions.
Manufacturing at scale — standing up a 255,000-square-foot production facility at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, designing a factory floor that can handle both commercial and defense production timelines, and fitting a dedicated Squire line into the same facility.
Defense acquisition reform — where REGENT is seeing meaningful change in how the Department of War engages with nontraditional vendors, and how the new Portfolio Acquisition Executive structure shapes their approach to programs of record.
The Quonset defense-tech ecosystem — what Secretary Hegseth’s Arsenal of Freedom Tour visit to Quonset Point, alongside Anduril and other companies operating there, signals about Rhode Island’s emerging role in future maritime operations.
Dual-use scaling and the valley of death — balancing a commercial backlog exceeding $9 billion with defense delivery commitments, and structuring manufacturing so that seagliders don’t get stuck as successful demos that never reach production.
International partnerships — how work with partners in the UAE, the Philippines, the UK Ministry of Defence, and across the Indo-Pacific is shaping requirements, concepts of operation, and REGENT’s global strategy.
What’s next — the Monarch, a 50-to-100-passenger seaglider designed to travel up to 400 miles at 140 mph, with UME Shipping signed on as the first delivery customer, and where REGENT plans to take the defense business over the next decade.
This conversation highlights how a Coast Guard pilot turned defense executive is helping bring an entirely new class of maritime vehicle from prototype to production, bridging the gap between commercial innovation and national security need.
This episode is co-hosted by Andrew Couillard and Nate Low
Full Bio: Tom Huntley
Tom Huntley is General Manager of REGENT Defense and Vice President of Government Relations at REGENT Craft. He retired from federal service after a career spanning more than two decades in military operations, defense acquisitions, and Congressional appropriations. As an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircraft commander and instructor pilot with the U.S. Coast Guard, he oversaw 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 served in the Coast Guard’s Office of Budget and Programs, where he shaped acquisitions strategy and resourcing, and as Detailed Professional Staff for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, reviewing shipbuilding acquisition budgets and programs. Huntley 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, a Master of Arts in Political Science from American Public University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Iowa. He is a graduate of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program. At REGENT, he leads the company’s defense business and works to validate how high-speed, low-signature, American-made seagliders can address urgent national security needs in the maritime domain.
