General Atomics flies Mojave STOL drone from simulated battlefield range in South Korea
General Atomics says its Mojave STOL unmanned aircraft carried out the first battlefield-style short-field flight operations by a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone, flying from a live-fire range north of Seoul.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems said on September 16, 2026 that its Mojave Short Take-Off Landing unmanned aircraft system had flown from a simulated battlefield. The company called the demonstration a first for a medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed platform.
The flights took place north of Seoul at a live-fire training range used by the Republic of Korea Army, during the Defense Drone Technology Exhibition. Run with the South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace, the operations showed the aircraft could work from austere short-field sites under battlefield conditions, according to the company.
The Mojave STOL is the demonstrator for what General Atomics plans to call the Gray Eagle STOL in production. It is to be built in South Korea under the company's agreement with Hanwha Aerospace. In 2024 the aircraft took off from the Republic of Korea Navy's Dokdo amphibious landing ship.
Earlier trials the company listed include rough-field take-off and landing tests in 2023, flights from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in November 2023, and live-fire tests with two M134 7.62 mm miniguns at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in April 2024.
General Atomics added that a critical design review of an aircraft representative of the production configuration is due in November 2026, with a first flight planned for 2027.
Sources
- theaviationist.comMojave STOL Drone Conducts First Battlefield Short-Field Operations in South Korea