General Atomics’ Mojave STOL Turns a Korean Tank Trail Into a Runway

North of Seoul on September 16, a 29-foot uncrewed aircraft left a conventional Army runway, joined air operations over a live-fire range, then settled onto a rough maneuver trail normally reserved for tanks and artillery. Ground-station pilots sent it rolling again. It lifted off in less than 200 meters, resumed the sortie, and flew back to the 513th Aviation Battalion. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Hanwha Aerospace called the sequence the first battlefield short-field operation ever completed by a medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft. The Mojave STOL carried dual weapon rails loaded with four inert AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and wore South Korean markings for the Defense Drone Technology Exhibition at Seungjin Training Field in Pocheon-si. In a real fight, crews on that same trail could have refueled and rearmed it before sending it back up.

High lift wings with leading edge slats, double slotted flaps, and drop down ailerons allow the 52-foot-wide aircraft to use runways ranging from 100 to 300 meters length. According to published estimates, the takeoff distance for a full load is roughly 122 meters, but carrying a dozen Hellfires would likely increase that to closer to 305 meters. Even with all the trimmings, including weapons rails, the aircraft managed a takeoff distance of less than 200m and a landing roll distance of less than 100m during this demonstration. Its 7,000-pound airframe is powered by a 450 shaft horsepower Rolls-Royce M250 turboprop, and it has a usable load of roughly 3400 pounds, which is just enough to carry all of the gear required for an extended operation (sensors, communications, and up to 16 Hellfires divided across 7 hardpoints).

Sale

SKYROVER X1 Drone with Camera Combo with Screen Controller, 4K/60fps Video, 8K Photo, 360° Obstacle…

• Cinematic 4K/60fps HDR Video & 48MP Photos: Captures smooth 4K/60fps HDR video and detailed 48 MP photos with a 1/1.32″ CMOS sensor and f…
• 5.5″ HD Touchscreen Remote — See Every Detail, Even in Direct Sunlight: 700-nit brightness and 60Hz display delivers crystal-clear live view…
• Under 249g & Travel Ready: Under 249g and easy to pack, the drone with camera for adults is built for grab-and-go flying without adding bulk to your…

There are no other aircraft that can provide the same amount of endurance, range, and cargo as this one. No other aircraft has been able to recover and take off from a difficult area of terrain like the one from which the advanced troops would operate. They’d already done the same thing at Mojave in early 2023, with deck landings on the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales and the ROKS Dokdo, as well as some live minigun firing, as they’d demonstrated in Korea. This demo introduced something new to the mix: a forward site that looked just like the terrain the soldiers would be fighting in, rather than one of those neat little airfields that are only used in movies.

Linden Blue, GA-ASI’s CEO, believes the flight demonstrates that the aircraft is more than capable of undertaking the type of tactical activity seen on a real battlefield: disputed austere operations, weapon delivery, resupply, and short takeoffs from tough terrain. Hanwha’s Buhwan Lee believes this is a significant step forward for their joint 2025 co-development agreement, in which they intend to collaborate on South Korean, US, and other regional consumers. The Gray Eagle STOL will be the name given to the final production version. They expect to conduct a critical design review in November 2026, followed by a first flight in 2027, at which point Hanwha hopes to have achieved at least 70% Korean content in the aircraft.

After that, the demonstrator heads to Changwon for a little of Industry Day at Hanwha. Settling for a traditional runway that will always be a target for the enemy is a bit of a cop out; with an aircraft that can launch from a tank track, a riverbed, or just about any old piece of dirt you can find, commanders have options for persistent surveillance and strike that they simply don’t have elsewhere. What Mojave just demonstrated is that you don’t have to be a genius to figure out how to make all of this work; it’s simply a matter of understanding that in the real world, you can’t always count on having a perfectly good runway available.
[Source]