AUSA 2025: Hanwha Aerospace, GA-ASI plan to develop Gray Eagle STOL UAV

The Gray Eagle STOL can be deployed aboard landing helicopter decks and small aircraft carriers as it requires a 100 m-long runway for take-off and recovery operations. (GA-ASI)

Hanwha Aerospace and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) have signed an agreement to jointly develop the Gray Eagle short take-off and landing (GE STOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The agreement, which was signed on 14 October during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual symposium in Washington, DC, launches a programme by GA-ASI and Hanwha Aerospace to co-develop and co-produce the GE STOL under a 70:30 cost-sharing arrangement, according to the South Korean company.

“Under the agreement, the two companies will design and build a production representative GE STOL,” GA-ASI added in a release on 14 October. “Work is set to begin immediately.”

Both companies have agreed on a timeline to conduct the UAVʼs maiden flight in 2027, with initial deliveries to purchasing countries possible in 2028. Hanwha Aerospace will supply the engine, landing gear, fuel systems, avionics, and mission equipment for the GE STOL.

Hanwha Aerospace also announced a plan to establish domestic production facilities where the UAV's airframe can be manufactured and assembled. “This project forms part of the company's plan to invest a total of KRW750 billion (USD525 million) in its unmanned aerial vehicle business, including KRW300 billion (USD210 million) secured through a paid-in capital increase,” Hanwha Aerospace said.

The Gray Eagle STOL is an enhanced variant of GA-ASI's baseline MQ-1C Gray Eagle medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV, which was developed as an upgrade to the MQ-1 Predator UAV. The GE STOL, however, can take off and land on runways measuring approximately 100 m in length.