Hanwha Aerospace signs contract with GA-ASI for UAS co-development

Hanwha Aerospace signed a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) during the Association of the U.S. Army's 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition (AUSA 2025) to jointly develop the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (GE-STOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

The agreement marks the beginning of a co-development and co-production partnership between the two aerospace companies in South Korea and the United States to deliver next-generation, runway-independent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solutions.

The signing ceremony took place on the second day of the AUSA exhibition, in the presence of Mr. Sun Kim, Senior Executive Vice President of Hanwha Aerospace, and Mr. David R. Alexander, President of GA-ASI, along with representatives from both companies.

Under the contract, both companies will design and build a GE-STOL demonstrator aircraft, targeting a maiden flight in 2027 and initial customer deliveries in 2028. With the GA-ASI–funded prototype already in flight testing, the partnership is expected to provide the fastest and lowest-risk path to operational capability.

Hanwha will supply key components for the UAS — including engines, landing gear, fuel systems, avionics, and mission equipment — while establishing a domestic production facility in South Korea for final assembly and manufacturing of the GE-STOL, with GA-ASI responsible for final system integration.

“GA-ASI and Hanwha are committed to investing in this project and building development and production capabilities in South Korea,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We’ll be leveraging the expertise of both companies to quickly bring the Gray Eagle STOL to global customers.”

This collaboration forms part of Hanwha’s broader investment strategy in the unmanned aerial vehicle sector, aimed at enhancing its ability to produce and deliver next-generation UAS solutions with greater cost efficiency and reduced development risk, both in South Korea and abroad.

“Co-producing GE-STOL in South Korea and the U.S. will create jobs and help Hanwha secure capability in related fields as well as foster our domestic (Korean) UAS industry ecosystem,” said Jae-il Son, President and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace. “Hanwha is poised to become a comprehensive UAS company capable of executing everything from design to production and maintenance based on our capabilities, which span from fighter jet engines to radar and avionics equipment.”

Gray Eagle STOL is the only medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS in its class to offer true runway independence by operating from semi-improved surfaces, including dirt roads, open fields, beaches, and parking lots. This exponentially increases its operational employment by providing multi-mission capability for Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA), counter UAS, and other missions including Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) while leveraging GE-STOL’s modular open systems approach.

In November 2024, Hanwha and GA-ASI successfully flew the GE-STOL demonstrator, called Mojave, from the South Korean Navy’s amphibious landing ship ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111) near the sea off the coast of Pohang. It has also been launched and recovered aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (2023), performed live-fire testing at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona (2024), and performed dirt strip operations (2023) underscoring GA-ASI’s advances in runway independence and operational flexibility.

Hanwha Aerospace

Founded in 1977 in South Korea, Hanwha Aerospace is a trusted global provider of transformative solutions that now extend beyond aerospace to the defense and marine sectors. With an unwavering focus on customer-centric quality management, continued innovation, and product competitiveness reinforced by advanced technologies, Hanwha Aerospace is surging forward as a world-class leader in the burgeoning space and aerospace businesses, as well as in the land, sea, and air defense industries.

For more information, visit: www.hanwhaaerospace.com/eng