Hanwha Aerospace has announced on the 2nd that it will collaborate with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) to jointly develop the Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) unmanned aerial vehicle 'Gray Eagle-STOL (GE-STOL).'
GA-ASI is a global leader in fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, supplying drones to major allies such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia, based on its experience in developing and operating high-performance drones such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.
Based on this collaboration, the two companies aim to establish a partnership that encompasses the entire lifecycle from planning, design, and development of the drone to system integration, production, operation, and sales. The jointly developed 'GE-STOL' has a take-off distance of only a few hundred meters, making it operable in constrained environments such as short runways, large vessels equipped with flight decks, and off-road locations without runways. The 'payload' capacity is 1.6 tons, allowing for various missions such as reconnaissance and attack depending on the equipment.
Earlier, in November of last year, the Navy successfully conducted a combat experiment by launching the drone from the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship.
The two companies plan to pursue global business in the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, aiming for the first flight in 2027. They expect that sharing the unmanned aerial vehicle platforms can contribute to strengthening the South Korea-U.S. military alliance.
Hanwha Aerospace plans to establish research and development and production infrastructure domestically for the development and production of the GE-STOL. It will also secure personnel in related fields to create jobs and identify domestic component and material partners to build a domestic unmanned aerial vehicle industry ecosystem.
According to GA-ASI, a survey on the demand from countries operating GA-ASI unmanned aerial vehicle products predicted a demand for the purchase of over 600 GE-STOL units in the next 10 years, which corresponds to an export volume of 15 trillion won based solely on simple purchases, excluding follow-up support.
Hanwha Aerospace believes it will require over 750 billion won in funds for unmanned vehicle system and engine development, infrastructure construction, etc., and plans to invest 300 billion won from funds secured through a capital increase into unmanned aerial vehicle-related businesses. If the current joint development of GE-STOL leads to an expansion of the Hanwha-GA Group partnership, the scale of investment could increase further.
Kim Dong-kwan, vice chairman of Hanwha Group, noted that "securing unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities is essential for expanding self-defense and the future growth of the K-defense industry" and stated, "We will do our utmost to secure advanced defense technology through active investments."