South Korea Gray Eagle STOL JV

The South Korea Gray Eagle STOL JV is a joint venture between General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Hanwha Aerospace to co-develop and co-produce a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) variant of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial system (UAS). Its purpose centers on enabling operations from austere locations like dirt roads, open fields, beaches, parking lots, semi-improved surfaces, and amphibious assault ships without runways, supporting reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition (RSTA), counter-UAS, strike, and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) missions. The platform builds on the Mojave demonstrator, incorporating modifications such as a new engine, wings, control surfaces, landing gear, EagleEye synthetic aperture radar, increased-range AESA antenna, vision-based navigation, and SATCOM anti-jam technologies for resilience in contested environments. Work began immediately after the agreement signed on October 14, 2025, at AUSA, entering a co-development and co-production phase with a production facility in South Korea alongside GA-ASI's San Diego operations; Hanwha supplies major components like engines, landing gear, and avionics. Key milestones include Mojave's shipboard operations from ROKS Dokdo in November 2024 (first ship-to-land flight to Pohang Navy Airfield), prior unpaved runway and live-fire tests, STOL variant introduction in 2021, and scheduled first flight of the production-representative drone in 2027 with initial deliveries in 2028. As of late 2025, the current status is active co-development targeting sales to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, the U.S. Department of Defense, and international customers, with parallel production in the U.S. and Korea. Its strategic significance enhances U.S.-South Korea defense cooperation by providing runway-independent UAS for distributed operations, rapid C-130 deployment (operational in 1.5 hours), and integration with assets like AH-64E Apaches, especially vital against North Korean threats where it can penetrate air defenses, relay data, and operate from Dokdo-class ships or unconventional land sites for survivability and surprise. This local production boosts South Korea's appeal for its forces while positioning the drone for global export amid peer conflicts.