“Hanwha Aerospace and GA-ASI Forge Groundbreaking Partnership for UAS Innovation”
Hanwha Aerospace has entered into a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) at AUSA 2025 to collaboratively create the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (GE-STOL) unmanned aerial system.
The contract initiates a co-development and co-production alliance between the two aerospace firms in South Korea and the United States, aiming to provide cutting-edge, runway-independent UAV solutions.
The agreement was formalized by Sun Kim, Senior Executive Vice President at Hanwha Aerospace, and Dave Alexander, President of GA ASI, during a ceremony on the second day of the AUSA showcase.
As part of the agreement, the companies will design and construct a GE STOL demonstrator aircraft, with the first flight slated for 2027 and initial customer deliveries expected in 2028. With the GA-ASI–funded prototype already undergoing flight tests, the collaboration is projected to offer the swiftest and most secure route to operational capability.
Hanwha will furnish essential components for the UAS, which include engines, landing gear, fuel systems, avionics, and mission equipment, while also creating a domestic production facility in South Korea for the final assembly and manufacturing of the GE-STOL, with GA-ASI tasked with overall system integration.
“GA-ASI and Hanwha are dedicated to investing in this endeavor and establishing development and production capabilities in South Korea,” stated GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We intend to utilize the expertise from both firms to rapidly deliver the Gray Eagle STOL to international clients.”
This partnership is part of Hanwha’s expansive investment agenda in the unmanned aerial vehicle domain, designed to enhance its capacity to manufacture and provide next-generation UAS solutions with improved cost effectiveness and lowered developmental risks, both domestically and globally.
“The joint production of GE STOL in both South Korea and the U.S. will generate employment opportunities and assist Hanwha in attracting talent within related sectors while nurturing our domestic (Korean) UAS industry ecosystem,” remarked Jae-il Son, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace. “Hanwha is ready to evolve into a comprehensive UAS entity capable of managing everything from design to production and maintenance, leveraging our competencies that range from fighter jet engines to radar and avionics systems.” The Gray Eagle STOL stands out as the only medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS in its category that delivers genuine runway independence, capable of operating from semi-improved terrains, such as dirt roads, open fields, beaches, and parking lots. This significantly enhances its operational utility by enabling multi-mission functionalities for Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA), counter-UAS initiatives, and various operations, including Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T), while utilizing the modular open systems framework of GE STOL.
In November 2024, Hanwha and GA-ASI accomplished a successful flight of the GE STOL demonstrator, known as Mojave, from the South Korean Navy’s amphibious landing ship ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111) near the coast of Pohang. It has also been launched and recovered from the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (2023), conducted live-fire testing at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona (2024), and executed dirt strip operations (2023), highlighting GA-ASI’s advancements in runway independence and operational adaptability.
