A South Korean-Austrian drone partnership is targeting one of modern warfare’s hardest problems: keeping communications alive when the enemy is actively trying to jam them.
Hanwha Systems and Schiebel Group have kicked off joint development of a next-generation airborne communications unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), holding a project kickoff meeting at Schiebel’s Seoul office that moves the two companies from agreement into execution.
Built for Contested Environments
The envisioned UAV will be equipped with a fifth-generation (5G) mobile base station, airborne relay communications equipment, and related avionics.
Once developed, the drone is expected to extend communications between ground and airborne assets in challenging environments.
Further details regarding its range, endurance, payload capacity, operating altitude, and overall technical specifications remain undisclosed.
The Road Ahead
The effort builds on a memorandum of understanding the firms signed in Austria in May.
Hanwha said the partnership supports its expansion into the global drone market and expands opportunities to export Indigenous avionics abroad.
“In a rapidly changing global drone market, we will further strengthen our mid- to long-term cooperation with Schiebel and lead next-generation drone technology,” the Seoul-based company stated.
“We will not only prove the technological capabilities of Korean-made avionics but also broaden both domestic adoption and overseas export at the same time.”
