Latest news with #MatthewKoch
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Seaglider Aims To Deliver Small Groups Of Marines Low Over The Waves
As the Marines prepare for future fights in the Pacific, they are investigating the use of the Viceroy Seaglider to quickly and quietly deliver troops and cargo and provide other critical functions. Under development by the Rhode Island-based REGENT company, the craft will be powered by 12 electric motors and runs on batteries. It is designed to carry 12 passengers or 3,500 pounds of cargo, all while swiftly skimming the surface of the ocean, allowing it to avoid enemy sensors. It uses a hydrofoil to get airborne and then can cruise efficiently in ground effect over the water. Since it will operate without the need for a runway, it will be able to access remote locales with little infrastructure. 'We're primarily looking at it for our contested logistics,' Matthew Koch, a project manager for the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL), told us from the showroom floor at the Modern Day Marine symposium in Washington D.C. 'There is a gap right now for high speed transport, and this fits this gap.' This craft is also envisioned to perform reconnaissance, infil, exfil, special operations missions, casualty and medical evacuations, and 'replace sorties and UH-1 helicopter runs. And that's just the start of what we can see there,' Koch added. Koch, whose unit is a division of the Marine Corps' Combat Development and Integration (CD&I) Command, is tasked with advising leadership on capabilities to help inform future requirements. The Viceroy offers several advantages, he explained. The fact that it is a dual-use technology already of high-interest from airlines and ferry companies is key, he noted to us. Tom Huntley, REGENT's VP of Government Relations and Defense, told us Viceroy will enter into commercial service in 2027. 'By leveraging the commercial technology, we're getting something that's significantly affordable,' Koch stated, adding that it avoids the lengthy process of presenting capabilities needs to industry and waiting for a solution. 'We are leveraging what's currently available in the military or in the commercial world for military applications and modifying it as needed,' he said. 'Right now, we're looking at a price point between $5 million and $7 million a copy. It provides us the high-speed, low-signature transport at a cost-effective price point.' The Viceroy, a hydrofoiling wing-in-ground (WIG) effect craft, 'is currently in sea trials,' REGENT Mission Assurance Manager Kristin Pedersen told us. The WIG design allows a craft to move at efficiently at higher speeds because it does not suffer from the drag associated with typical ship designs, while also benefiting from the lift generated by a wing. 'Our Seaglider goes through three phases of transportation – float, foil and fly, and our sea trials will mirror that as a progressive step,' Pedersen told us. 'So we're currently in the float stage of that three-phase approach for sea trials.' The Viceroy is scheduled to undergo testing on its hydrofoil capabilities in the early summer and flight testing by the end of the summer, she added. As we have previously noted, the WIG concept certainly is not new, but prior attempts to employ it on a large scale have generated limited success, particularly for military purposes. From our prior reporting: 'The Soviet Union remains the most notable operator of military WIG designs, known in Russian as ekranoplans – a term now widely used as a catch-all for WIG designs – but even there their service was limited. Efforts to revive military ekranoplans in Russia in recent years have so far not produced any operational types.' The video below shows the only Lun, a cruise missile-armed design, that the Soviet Union ever completed being moved in the Caspian Sea in 2020 as part of a plan to put it on display. High-speed sea-skimming flight presents challenges, including the risk of collisions with various objects on the surface or even just high cresting waves. Koch, the MCWL project manager, said Viceroy's hydrofoil addresses some of those concerns. 'The hydrofoil is actually one of the key technologies to help the Seaglider come to life,' he suggested. 'Typical seaplanes or wing-in-ground craft in the past have had limitations due to how much they can take on the sea state. By operating on the actively controlled hydrofoils, it brings the craft out of the water and reduces the amount of craft that's being surfaced with water.' 'The hydrofoils allow us to be five feet above the waves,' Pedersen offered. 'You're operating outside of the water, so you're not as susceptible to those waves to be able to smoothly transition into that flight mode.' In addition, 'the seaglider uses numerous sensor systems to provide a blended solution to the operators, enhancing situational awareness and providing hazard identification,' REGENT spokesperson Kirsten Salyer told us. 'The triple redundant automated vehicle control system enables captains to navigate left/right and fast/slow control inputs.' Once the hydrofoils are deployed, the Viceroy is designed to go from floating at 12 knots to speeding up to 45 knots and then taking off, operating in ground effect mode, Koch posited. Once airborne, it reaches speeds up to 180 knots. It can take off in Sea State of 3-plus and land in Sea State 5, Pedersen added. These two Sea States are characterized by wind speeds of 7 to 10 knots and 17 to 21 knots, as well as wave heights between two and three feet and five feet and six and eight feet, respectively. The Viceroy design offers another advantage, Koch stated It has 'very interesting signature properties,' he stated. Because it is not a vessel, it operates with far less wake, which can make a ship more visible to adversary sensors. The electric motors reduce its heat signature. In addition, the Viceroy is designed to fly at about 30 feet above the surface, allowing it to fly under radar coverage and above sonar coverage, according to the company. Under its current configuration, the Viceroy has a range of about 180 miles. Future iterations with hybrid-electrical powerplants arrangement could enable it to travel nearly 1,000 miles. The aircraft is designed to be transportable by large cargo aircraft, like the C-17, and it can recharge from really any electrical power source, which opens up fuel independent operations. This could be of a big advantage in the Pacific where fuel distribution will be under pressure. The U.S. Coast Guard has approved REGENT's Navigational Safety Risk Assessment for the prototype, which allows REGENT to test with humans on board in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound, the company stated. REGENT has also submitted its Viceroy Design Basis Agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard. The Seaglider concept is one of several WIG craft that the U.S. military is considering to solve the problems of delivering troops and cargo quickly over vast bodies of water, while limiting their vulnerability to enemy weapon systems. As we noted earlier in the week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has the Liberty Lifter X-plane program. Its core goal is to produce a flying transport design that employs the WIG effect principle. You can read more about that program in our story here. So far, the Marines have made a low-cost bet on this concept. In March, REGENT was awarded a $10 million contract to allow it 'to demonstrate their full-size prototypes and multiple military demonstrations, which we will use to help inform future requirements,' Koch said. That follows a $4.75 million contract signed in 2023 to demonstrate the technological feasibility of Viceroy. There is still a long way to go before this craft joins the Marine arsenal, if it does at all. The fact that MCWL has invested time and money into the concept, though, shows there's a real interest in it. Contact the author: howard@
Axios
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Your yard probably needs some TLC after the drought
More rain is coming Wednesday night, and Midwest dads are right — your lawn really needs it. Why it matters: Last year's drought, the worst Ohio has experienced since 1988, left yards across the state looking rough. Spring begins Thursday and the recent warm weather is waking them up, meaning now is the perfect time to enter recovery mode. Driving the news: We asked Matthew Koch, director of biotechnology and genetics at ScottsMiracle-Gro in Marysville, what you should be doing to get your lawn back on track. His tips: 😬 Check for signs of life. If grass is brown on top, but green near the soil surface, you're in luck — it's still alive. 🍴 Feed it. "They've been hibernating. They're like bears. And when they wake up, they're really hungry," Koch says. " Fertilizers are your friend," and will help lawns self-repair. 🌱 Seed it. It's best to start now, before summer heat strikes. Remove dead patches to ensure seeds reach the soil and keep the top layer moist. 🚫 Weed it. A pre-emergent weed controller curbs problems like crabgrass before they start. Yes, but: New grass seeds won't grow either unless you make sure it's seed-safe. Ultimately, the best defense is a thick, healthy lawn. ✂️ Don't cut it close. Mowing too short causes shallow root systems. Raise your mower height a bit. The other side: Landscaping plants and trees likely won't have as difficult a time recovering from the drought if they're healthy and established, senior Scotts horticulturist Amy Enfield tells Axios. Now is a good time for prep work like pruning and removing debris. Planting is recommended around Mother's Day, when there's less risk of damaging frost. What's next: The Climate Prediction Center's latest seasonal outlooks forecast above-normal precipitation for most of Ohio through May and around-normal temperatures. What we're watching: So far in 2025, Columbus' total precipitation is just an inch or so below normal, National Weather Service data shows.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky lawmakers advance ‘shell' bill to ban sale of hemp-derived beverages until next year
Rep. Matthew Koch, R-Paris, picks up a hemp-derived beverage with the flavor "Wild Blueberry Mojito" from the cans on the table. Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, is seated beside him. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers advanced a 'shell' bill Wednesday evening to ban the sale of hemp-derived beverages in the state until summer of 2026, a move supporters say will allow time to understand how intoxicating versions of the beverages are impacting consumers. But those involved in the hemp industry decried the proposed moratorium on the sale of hemp-derived beverages as hampering, or even crippling, small businesses trying to market, distribute or sell the canned beverages that are gaining popularity across the country and popping up in places including convenience stores. Senate Bill 202 sponsor Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, said the goal of her bill is to better understand and regulate intoxicating hemp-derived beverages similar to how the state regulates other intoxicating beverages such as beer or liquor. She spoke to lawmakers alongside Rep. Matthew Koch, R- Paris, with a line of cans on a desk featuring various flavors and amounts of infused non-intoxicating cannabidiol, known as CBD, and cannabinoids, which can include intoxicating tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. 'We are simply placing a moratorium on their sale until such time as we can establish robust regulations that protect Kentucky consumers and, most importantly, Kentucky children,' Adams said. 'We have a real, I think, consumer protection issue going on right now. We need to make sure that Kentucky gets this right.' Legislative concerns about regulating hemp-derived beverages sprang into public view on the 22nd day of this year's 30-day session. The deadline for filing bills in the Senate was Feb. 18. Senate Bill 202 originally made minor technical corrections in Kentucky law but was rewritten Wednesday through a substitute bill adopted by the Kentucky Senate's Licensing and Occupations Committee. The practice of rewriting seemingly unimportant bills, known as 'shell bills,' with little notice in order to make significant changes to state law has been criticized by the Kentucky League of Women Voters, along with other legislative maneuvers that the League says exclude the public from participation in the legislative process. Lawmakers have argued 'shell' bills allow them more time to work on legislation and advance it beyond the deadline to file bills each legislative session. Under SB 202, the ban on the sale of hemp-derived beverages would begin immediately upon the legislation becoming law and continue until July 1, 2026. The bill also directs the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to create regulations specifically for beverages containing non-intoxicating cannabidiol, known as CBD, and cannabinoids, which can include intoxicating THC. Additionally, SB 202 would direct the University of Kentucky Cannabis Center to study the testing, manufacture, distribution, sales and effects on consumers of such beverages and present a report to the Legislative Research Commission by January 1, 2026. Adams said given the 'chatter' the bill has created among the state's hemp industry, the version of SB 202 is likely just a 'starting place' with the end goal of finding appropriate regulations for a nascent industry. She said she ultimately wants to engage stakeholders on how it should be regulated. SB 202 advanced from the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee with seven Republicans voting in favor, two Republicans voting against and the two Democrats on the committee voting to pass on the legislation. Both Republicans and Democrats on the committee were concerned about the impacts a moratorium could have on businesses in the state, though some Republicans voted to advance the bill with the understanding it would be changed. 'By having a total prohibition in July of 2026, we're punishing the good players as well,' said Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, who voted to advance the bill. 'It'll shut down their revenue stream and, probably, they won't exist.' Various people representing the hemp products industry strongly opposed the current version of the legislation implementing a moratorium, though those who testified to lawmakers disagreed over how the beverages should be regulated — whether there should be a cap on the amount of milligrams of intoxicating THC in each beverage and what that cap should be. Jim Higdon, the co-founder of the Kentucky company Cornbread Hemp which makes various hemp-derived balms, gummies and oils, told lawmakers the moratorium would put his growing company 'at risk' by undercutting a THC-infused beverage product launch the company has planned for April. 'I don't understand how a moratorium is different from a ban,' Hidgon said. 'If, as a small business, we are forced into a moratorium, it will kill our growth. And as a small business that's growing and being successful — successful in Kentucky — we would like to help the General Assembly to continue to grow and employ Kentuckians.' Higdon said his company has spent a little more than $1.2 million to launch the planned beverage, featuring fruity flavors and about five milligrams of THC in each can. He told the Lantern that canceling the product launch would take a toll on his staffing, hemp farmers and more. Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, the father of the Cornbread Hemp co-founder, voted against the bill advancing out of committee. The Republican said the bill was detrimental to small business and that such beverages were already regulated by the state. The rise of hemp-derived beverages and other products proliferating across Kentucky began with federal lawmakers legalizing the cultivation of hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill. That federal legislation also removed the prohibition of the production of intoxicating Delta-8 THC, a hemp-derived version of the THC found in marijuana that can give a user a similar 'high.' But the legality of hemp-derived Delta-8 THC products in Kentucky wasn't immediate, and the initial focus of Kentucky hemp production honed in on the extraction of non-intoxicating CBD products. The Kentucky Hemp Association sued the state in 2021 after a series of police raids of Delta-8 THC products, arguing Delta-8 THC was made legal under a past federal farm bill. A Boone County Circuit Court judge sided with the association in 2022 to legalize the products in the state. In 2023, Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill into law directing the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to regulate Delta-8 THC products. The cabinet subsequently created a series of regulations overseeing the sale of such products including restricting sales to people 21 years old or older. The creation of intoxicating hemp-derived beverages with Delta-8 THC have followed since with state legislatures taking a harder look at the regulation of such beverages. Higdon, the hemp products company co-founder, told lawmakers he'd prefer SB 202 to be amended to have a cap on the amount of milligrams of THC in each beverage. But Dee Taylor, the president of the Kentucky Hemp Association and an owner of a Louisville hemp business, cautioned against having such a cap. Taylor said her husband deals with seizures and needs a higher amount of THC in such beverages, and anecdotally she's had alcoholics come into her business who use the beverages instead of drinking alcohol. Hidgon said the hemp industry includes people from various backgrounds, describing the industry as 'an island of misfit toys.' Because of that it's 'difficult to find consensus' on how to regulate the beverages. The thing industry stakeholders agree on: a moratorium isn't the way forward. 'States are robustly regulating this sector, and lots of states are coming up with lots of different answers,' Hidgon said. 'A moratorium is prohibition.'
