General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace have signed an agreement to partner in developing the Gray Eagle Short Takeoff and Landing (GE STOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The deal was announced on 14 October amid the Association of the US Army (AUSA) 2025 exhibition in Washington, DC, where a mock-up of the aircraft was on display.
While GA-ASI has already produced the Mojave STOL UAV as a demonstrator, the tie-up with Hanwha will see the development of a production-ready version of that as the GE STOL. Work on the aircraft is set to begin immediately, with a maiden flight slated for 2027 and first deliveries to customers envisaged as possible from 2028.
GA-ASI and Hanwha Aerospace will work closely throughout the design phase of the GE STOL and establish a production facility in South Korea for final assembly and manufacturing of the aircraft, with GA-ASI handling the final integration. GA-ASI will continue to produce its other Gray Eagle models in San Diego.
The GE STOL will be offered to a worldwide customer base, most immediately including the South Korean Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense.
GA-ASI states that the GE STOL “offers unprecedented runway independence, able to launch from warships to dirt fields and everywhere in between” adding that it “enables multi-mission expeditionary versatility with high payloads supporting contested logistics along with considerable firepower for attack and reconnaissance missions”.
The Mojave demonstrator has already recorded multiple first-of-their-kind aviation milestones. On 15 November 2023 it became the largest UAV to be launched from a UK Royal Navy aircraft carrier when it took off from the deck of HMS Prince of Wales while the ship was on exercise off the US East Coast. It then flew circuits and approaches before eventually landing back onto the carrier.
On 12 November 2024, meanwhile, the Mojave took off from the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) amphibious landing ship Dokdo, which was underway at sea off the coast of Pohang, and landed at Pohang Navy Airfield in the first-ever such mission for a UAV of that type.
Speaking to ESD at AUSA 2025, C Mark Brinkley, senior director for strategic communications and marketing at GA-ASI, noted that the GE STOL effectively features the front of a GA-ASI Gray Eagle UAV with a high-lift wing and the V-shaped tail design of a GA-ASI MQ-9A Reaper (the Gray Eagle features an inverted V-shaped tail).
Powered by a Rolls-Royce M250-B17F turboprop with a pusher propeller, the GE STOL has a wingspan of 16 m, a length of 9 m, a maximum gross take-off weight of 3,175 kg and a useful load of 1,542 kg (allowing it to carry up to 16 Hellfire missiles). Its required take-off distance is cited by GA-ASI as being 122 m with an ISR payload and 304 m when carrying 12 Hellfires, although Brinkley noted that he has seen the Mojave demonstrator take off within 100 m.
The GE STOL is stated by GA-ASI to have a maximum endurance of more than 25 hours, with satellite-based communications affording it a ferry range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 km).
With regard to GA-ASI’s self-funded development of the Mojave thus far, Brinkley noted, “Investing to show you mean it is important, and GA-ASI has done that for a long time.”
For Hanwha, meanwhile, joining GA-ASI in developing the GE STOL is part of the company’s strategic investment plan in its UAV business.
“Jointly producing GE STOL in South Korea and the US will create jobs and help Hanwha secure talent in related fields as well as foster our domestic (Korean) UAS industry ecosystem,” Jae-il Son, president and CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, was quoted as saying in a GA-ASI press release. “Hanwha is poised to become a comprehensive UAS company capable of executing everything from design to production and maintenance.”
