Hanwha Systems strengthens partnership with Austrian drone company - accelerating global export of advanced aerial communication solutions

Hanwha Systems is significantly expanding its strategic partnership with Schiebel, an Austrian company specializing in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to accelerate its push into the global UAV export market, led by advanced communication and avionics equipment.

On the 18th, Hanwha Systems announced that it held a kickoff meeting for the development of a "next-generation aerial communication UAV" at Schiebel's Korea branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul, attended by key officials from both companies. An aerial communication UAV is an advanced drone equipped with 5G base stations, aerial relay communication devices, and related avionics; it establishes seamless tactical communication networks, connecting ground-to-air and air-to-air, across any battlefield environment.

The two companies previously signed an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Austria last May for the development of this aerial communication UAV. With this kickoff meeting, they have now formally begun the process of concretizing the project and moving toward practical implementation.

The core of this collaboration lies in combining Schiebel's proven UAV platforms with Hanwha Systems' high-performance communication and avionics equipment to secure a leading position in the domestic and international UAV communication markets.

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Schiebel possesses an unrivaled global network, supplying UAVs to military, government, and private entities in over 40 countries, including Italy, the UK, France, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hanwha Systems plans to significantly expand opportunities for the direct entry and re-export of domestically produced avionics into overseas markets by integrating its proprietary, state-of-the-art communication, radar, and avionics equipment onto Schiebel's proven platforms as a standard configuration.

It is also noteworthy that the scope of cooperation between the two companies is expanding from the naval sector to advanced R&D for the Army. Since 2023, Hanwha Systems has participated as the prime contractor for projects involving ship-based reconnaissance UAVs for the Navy and Marine Corps, as well as UAVs for the Northwest Islands, utilising Schiebel's S-300 rotary-wing UAV.

Leveraging the data and know-how accumulated through naval UAV operations, the two companies plan to jointly develop next-generation technologies for aerial communication missions during ground manoeuvre warfare. By designing mission equipment for the Army based on already verified test data, they expect to drastically reduce development time and costs compared to developing entirely new platforms, thereby securing overwhelming global price competitiveness.

In particular, the two companies aim to focus on securing technologies for "electronic warfare (EW) countermeasures and communication survivability," which have emerged as critical factors in modern warfare. Hanwha Systems plans to develop technologies such as ultra-compact, lightweight, and high-efficiency 5G RF base station modules and aerial relay communication equipment that can be mounted on small UAVs; high-reliability navigation technology that maintains the aircraft's position and attitude even against powerful enemy EW attacks (jamming); and solutions optimised for communication survivability that maintain network connectivity even during jamming scenarios. A Hanwha Systems official stated, "We will lead the next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector by further strengthening our mid- to long-term partnership with Schiebel amidst the rapidly changing global drone market," adding, "We aim to not only validate the technological capabilities of our domestically produced avionics equipment but also expand avenues for both domestic adoption and overseas exports."