Continuing the tradition of South Korean shipbuilders showing innovative concepts at home defence exhibitions, Hanwha Ocean appeared at MADEX 2025 in Busan with a new concept for a ship capable of performing manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T).
This vessel of potential interest to the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) is called the Ghost Commander II, and it is a quite different concept from the original Ghost Commander shown at MADEX 2023. That radical-looking vessel was a 16,000-tonne mini carrier for unmanned aerial, surface and underwater vessels.
The Ghost Commander II more closely resembles a light aircraft carrier, and it is designed to operate both unmanned systems and helicopters side by side. Hanwha Ocean listed an approximate length of 240m, width of 60m and displacement of 42,000 tonnes.
Vice Admiral (Ret.) Steve S.K Jeong, Hanwha Ocean’s Senior Executive Vice President/Head of Naval Ship Global Business Department, reminded Naval News, “Right now the ROK Navy is actually developing the concept. It’s a very early concept. Some people don’t agree with the concept of manned and unmanned systems, because how many UAVs can operate on board?”
Indeed, he said not many UAVs available on the market are capable of returning to an aircraft carrier. “The concept is not defined yet. There’s still a lot of discussion.” He added that such vessels “are the way of the future, but not of the near future”.
Furthermore, “Concepts of operation need to be defined first, and then we can design what type of aircraft we’d like to operate, how many to support air operations, what type of ship we need to build.”
Jeon Seoungbae, Principal Engineer/Naval & Special Ship Basic Design Team, Naval Ship Business at Hanwha Ocean, explained that the Ghost Commander II is designed primarily for seaborne surveillance and reconnaissance.
Whereas the original Ghost Commander was very futuristic, the latest version is more conventional in design, and it also echoes the function of China’s Type 076 vessel currently under construction.
The Ghost Commander II has one flight deck for take-offs, this equipped with an electromagnetic catapult. The flight deck is served by two elevators on the starboard side.
Flight operations for both manned and unmanned aircraft would be controlled from spaces in the island superstructure. A second runway is available for landing, and so it has three arresting wires. A secondary catapult is also available in this section. Meanwhile, there are six landing spots for helicopters.
The vessel is fitted with a vertical launch system for missiles too. Beneath the flight deck is a hangar deck for helicopters, a vehicle deck and a well deck for landing craft, amphibious assault vehicles, USVs and AUVs to deploy from. Making it a truly multipurpose vessel, such a combination means the carrier can deploy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, strike weapons and amphibious lift.
Recently the ROKN indicated it is now more interested in a multipurpose manned and unmanned force command ship, instead of the F-35B-equipped CVX light aircraft carrier that it earlier sought. Hanwha Ocean’s Ghost Commander II thus represents a response to this idea.
The Ghost Commander II scale model was exhibited at MADEX 2025 populated with various UAVs from their local partner, Korean Air, as well as the Gray Eagle STOL for surveillance, as well as stealthier strike UAVs.
The ROKN has already expressed interest in the MQ-1C Gray Eagle STOL (also known as the Mojave). This short-take-off-and-landing version of the UAV actually took off from ROKS Dokdo on 12 November 2024. That demonstration occurred in conjunction with Hanwha Aerospace, with the Gray Eagle later landing in Pohang.
“We applaud the South Korean navy for its foresight in examining the unique capability of GE STOL for its fleet. This demonstration illustrates the ability of the GE STOL to safely operate on many types of aircraft-capable ships, which opens myriad new ways our allies can use this UAS to support multi-domain naval operations.”
Linden Blue, CEO of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Also confirming industry support for the Gray Eagle STOL to the ROKN, GA-ASI signed a letter of intent with Hanwha covering joint investment and pursuit of new UAV business opportunities on 8 April 2025. Hanwha intends to invest more than US$203.5 million in development and production facilities for the Gray Eagle STOL and for UAV engines.
For MADEX 2025, Hanwha printed a brochure highlighting the suitability of the Gray Eagle STOL for South Korea. The brochure stated that usage from an aircraft carrier is one mode of operations, claiming the UAV’s folded wings mean it occupies twice the width of a UH-60 helicopter but only half its length. It included illustrations showing how the UAV type could realistically operate from a Dokdo-class vessel.
