REGENT Viceroy seaglider completes first crewed wing-in-ground flight

The REGENT Viceroy prototype completed its first crewed wing-in-ground (WIG) flight on September 2, 2026, in Narragansett Bay, North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The all-electric seaglider is notable for combining three features in one platform: a floating hull, hydrofoils, and WIG-effect wings.

What the Viceroy is trying to solve

How the Viceroy addresses those problems

The Viceroy integrates hydrofoils that lift the hull out of the water at mid-speeds. Lifting on foils cuts wave-induced drag, improves maneuverability, and reduces pitch instability during acceleration toward takeoff speed. The prototype also uses distributed electric propulsion — a dozen electric motors mounted along the wing's leading edge — and a triple-redundant digital fly-by-wire system for automatic control of pitch, roll and altitude.

For the initial test the Viceroy carried two pilots. It flew for roughly 30 seconds, covered 1,956 ft (596 m) and reached about 33 ft (10 m) in altitude. The purpose of the flight was a fundamentals check: to validate that the combined hull/foil/WIG configuration can transition into controlled, sustained low-altitude flight under pilot command while relying on its redundancy and control architecture.

Hydrofoils change the waterborne behavior of the craft long before it achieves WIG altitude. By raising the hull, foils:

• Reduce wave drag so the vehicle can reach takeoff speeds more efficiently.
• Improve stability and steering at mid-speed compared with conventional hulls.
• Provide a smoother and more predictable transition path into the WIG flight regime.

The Viceroy's propulsion system uses multiple electric motors distributed along the wing leading edge. Distributed propulsion can help with thrust shaping and redundancy. The flight control architecture is triple-redundant digital fly-by-wire, handling automatic pitch, roll and altitude control — a key factor for validating stability in a design that intentionally operates very close to the surface of the water.

What the flight proves and what remains

The test demonstrated that the prototype can leave the water and sustain low-altitude flight with pilot control and redundant fly-by-wire systems. The short duration and low altitude were deliberate: this was a validation of core aerodynamic and hydro-dynamic behavior rather than a performance demonstration. Further testing will be needed to assess handling across a range of sea states, higher speeds, payload operations and long-duration missions.

WIG concepts have a long technical history and prior development efforts have struggled with the transition and stability issues the Viceroy is designed to address. Other recent seaglider and hydrofoil work — including autonomous WIG trials and military exercises — shows continued interest in hybrid water/air platforms for both commercial and defense uses.

The Viceroy maiden crewed flight validated the combined approach of hydrofoils plus WIG lift under electric propulsion and redundant flight control. It establishes the basic feasibility of that configuration and provides a foundation for more extensive test flights focused on robustness, sea-state handling and operational use cases.