Hanwha, Schiebel Start Airborne 5G UAV Project

Hanwha Systems and Schiebel, an Austrian unmanned aerial vehicle specialist, have announced a collaboration to develop a next-generation airborne communication UAV. The two companies held a kickoff meeting on August 18 at Schiebel's Korea branch in Seoul to formalize their strategic partnership. The airborne communication UAV is a sophisticated piece of equipment that creates a tactical communication network linking ground and air forces through a 5G base station and airborne relay communication equipment mounted on the aircraft.

This collaboration is an extension of the exclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in May in Austria. The primary focus of the partnership is to integrate Hanwha Systems' communication and avionics equipment into Schiebel's unmanned aerial vehicle platform. The scope of cooperation will expand from the current Navy-centric emphasis to advanced research and development targeted towards the Army.

Hanwha Systems has been using Schiebel's rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle 'S-300' for shipborne reconnaissance and Northwest Islands UAV projects for the Navy and Marine Corps since 2023. This project aims to jointly develop next-generation technology to carry out airborne communication missions during ground maneuver warfare. By leveraging existing test data from the Navy's operations, the project seeks to significantly reduce the time and cost required to develop a new platform.

Key capabilities will include securing electronic warfare response technology, a crucial factor in modern warfare. Hanwha Systems is developing an ultra-small and lightweight 5G radio frequency (RF) base station module compatible with small UAVs. Additionally, the company plans to enhance battlefield survivability by incorporating high-reliability navigation technology and a communication network maintenance solution that retains the aircraft's position even under enemy jamming attacks.

With its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Schiebel maintains a global network supplying unmanned aerial vehicles to over 40 government and military entities worldwide, including those in Italy, the United Kingdom, and France. A Hanwha Systems representative emphasized that through this mid-to-long-term collaboration with Schiebel, the company will spearhead the development of next-generation UAV technology while simultaneously broadening both domestic adoption and overseas export opportunities for domestically produced avionics equipment.