Hanwha and GA-ASI partner for Gray Eagle production

The partnership between GA-ASI and Hanwha reflects continued faith in large UAS like the Gray Eagle, which have proven easy targets for air defence systems in conflicts around the world. 

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has announced an agreement with Hanwha Aerospace to partner in the development of Gray Eagle short takeoff and landing (STOL) uncrewed aerial system (UAS). The aim is to develop and locally manufacture the Gray Eagle with work set to begin immediately, according to the October 14 press release. 

The two companies plan to offer the Gray Eagle STOL to both the Korean MoD and US Department of War, as well as other customers around the world. The agreement will result in both companies building and developing a production representative example of the UAS, with the maiden flight expected in 2027 and customer delivery the year after. “The partnership offers the fastest path with lowest risk to operational capability,” the press release states. 

The partnership will also work to establish a production facility for final assembly and manufacturing in South Korea with GA-ASI staying in control of final assembly. Hanwha and GA-ASI have already worked together on the Gray Eagle, including a demonstration in 2024 when the Gray Eagle demonstrator – Mojave – was flown from the deck of South Korea’s ROKS Dokdo amphibious landing ship. It is also, according to GA-ASI, the only UAS in its class capable of runway independent operation. 

This means it can be launched from “from semi-improved surfaces, including dirt roads, open fields, beaches, and parking lots.” Outside of this, GA-ASI is working to improve the performance and utility of platforms like the Gray Eagle, including as an air-to-air counter-drone capability, as well as to enable it to communicate over proliferated low-earth orbit satellites. But some users remain unconvinced. 

Calibre comment: How are large UAS still going? 

Large UAS platforms like the Gray Eagle, MQ-9B, and Bayraktar TB2 are still securing orders from customers, despite several conflicts now showing that they are vulnerable to even rudimentary air defences. The Houthis have accounted for many US MQ-9s over Yemen, reportedly using weapons as simple as ZU-23-2 air defence cannons. Syrian defence forces have shot down Bayraktar TB2s, and many Ukrainian TB2s were lost in the first year of the war. Akinci drones, also from Baykar Technologies, have been shot down over Libya, and Chinese drones in Sudan and Togo. 

All of this led General Randy George, Chief of Staff of the US Army, to state in May 2025 that, “we will cancel procurement of outdated crewed attack aircraft such as the AH-64D, excess ground vehicles like the HMMWV and JLTV, and obsolete UAVs like the Gray Eagle.” It is not clear if he was referring only to the Gray Eagle, but US MQ-9s have also had a tough time as mentioned above. 

So, why do states continue to buy these platforms if they are so vulnerable to air defences? There are a few elements, one is that they can be held at high readiness for a lower cost than crewed platforms. Equally, they can maintain orbits for longer than some platforms and reduce the maintenance burden on them. This is part of the reasoning behind the Royal Navy’s Peregrine UAS. Many UAS are mission system agnostic, and will allow sensors to be swapped according to the mission demands. This means they can easily be used for anti-submarine warfare, ISTAR, or even to support civil operations. Again, all at lower cost. 

In combat, they provide all of the above without the risk to human life. It is worth noting that the Houthis have also claimed Saudi helicopters and jets, as well as US MQ-9s. So, a large UAS may still be shot down, but that loss is generally preferable to a human and associated jet, which is much more difficult and expensive to replace. Even in a high-intensity conflict, the Russians often deploy their Forpost and Orion UAS when they are confident that Ukraine’s air defences have fallen behind the rate of advance. They have achieved some notable successes when engaging Ukrainian armour in Kursk, for example. So, there is still a role for large UAS, and it is in some ways distinct from crewed aircraft for the time being, although the introduction of collaborative combat aircraft will likely change that. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on October 16, 2025. The lead image shows a Gray Eagle STOL with Korean and US flags taking off from the deck of a ship. Credit: GA-ASI.