Hanwha Ghost Commander II aircraft carrier unveiled at ADEX

South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean used Seoul ADEX 2025 (20 October 2025) to showcase Ghost Commander II, an AI‑enabled, 42,000‑ton class carrier concept designed for manned‑unmanned teaming (MUM‑T) across air, surface, and subsurface domains. Beyond another show model, the concept signals how the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) and industry are converging on a drone‑centric naval aviation architecture—electromagnetic catapults for fixed‑wing ops on the flight deck, plus USV/UUV launch and recovery below—to project power with fewer sailors and faster decision loops.

Why it matters: Carrier aviation is evolving toward mixed decks and autonomous swarms. Ghost Commander II’s AI‑assisted C2 and layered defence stack position it as a blueprint for high‑tempo, attritable air‑sea operations in contested littorals and blue water alike.

Key Facts

Event/date: Model shown at Seoul ADEX 2025, KINTEX, Goyang — 20–25 October 2025
Dimensions/displacement: ~240 m length × 60 m beam; ~42,000 t
Flight deck: EM catapult, 6 helo spots, 2 aircraft elevators
Mission: Integrated MUM‑T with UAVs/USVs/UUVs; well‑deck for amphibious/unmanned launch (concept)
Combat system: AI‑assisted rapid decision support; multi‑layered defence with staged countermeasures vs. ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones
Status: Concept / under development; part of broader ROKN interest in a drone carrier/MUM‑T fleet

Context and the new reveal

Hanwha Ocean has iterated on the Ghost Commander line since mid‑2025, first surfacing the Ghost Commander II concept at domestic naval shows before bringing an aircraft‑carrier mock‑up to ADEX 2025. According to statements at the show, the ship integrates crewed aviation with uncrewed aerial, surface, and underwater systems under a unified, AI‑supported command‑and‑control (C2) architecture. The electromagnetic launch system (EMALS‑type) and multi‑spot helicopter deck imply mixed fixed‑ and rotary‑wing flight operations, while a well deck and mission bays support USV/UUV packages and amphibious craft.

South Korea’s wider K‑defence push—automation, AI, and exportability—frames the design choices: reduced manning, modular payloads, and software‑defined combat systems to accelerate kill‑chains and compress observe‑orient‑decide‑act (OODA) cycles.

Technical and operational implications

AI‑assisted C2: The carrier’s combat system concept emphasises machine‑aided sensor fusion and decision support, prioritising threats and orchestrating missions for crewed and uncrewed assets. In practice, this means faster deck cycles, dynamic re‑tasking of UAV swarms, and counter‑saturation resilience against drone/ missile raids.

Flight‑deck architecture: An EM catapult enables heavier, higher‑sortie fixed‑wing UAV/ UCAV concepts and supports interoperability with future crewed aircraft. Six helo pads and two elevators suggest concurrent vertical‑lift and logistics operations, while hangar volume is optimised for modular payload containers and unmanned maintenance cells.

Multi‑layer defence: Hanwha describes a staged countermeasure stack against ballistic and cruise missiles and UAS, likely blending hard‑kill interceptors, soft‑kill EW/decoys, and directed‑energy growth paths. A below‑deck mission bay/well‑deck offers USV picket and UUV barrier options for outer‑screen defence and mine countermeasures.

Reduced crew, higher tempo: Consistent with Hanwha’s parallel surface‑combatant studies, the concept leans on advanced automation to shrink crew size and sustain high sortie rates—appealing for navies facing demographics‑driven manpower constraints.

Programme and timelines

Hanwha labels Ghost Commander II “under development” with no public production timeline. However, ROKN planners have openly explored a drone‑carrier/MUM‑T flotilla, and Korean yards (Hanwha Ocean and HD HHI) have displayed complementary drone‑mothership concepts since May–August 2025. Any movement from model to prototype will hinge on:

ROKN CONOPS maturation for mixed crewed/uncrewed air wings
EM catapult industrialisation and integration risk
Export partner interest (cost‑sharing) and mission‑system modularity for foreign customers

Assessment (risks and alternatives)

Integration risk: EMALS‑class launch systems, AI‑assisted C2, and mixed‑domain unmanned ops create interface‑risk across aviation, deck handling, and maritime autonomy. A spiral development approach—with a lighter drone carrier first—could de‑risk.
Cost/complexity: A 40k‑ton class hull with high‑end electronics and survivability hardening competes with destroyer/frigate recapitalisation. Modular UCAV carriers or LHD‑derived UAV decks are cheaper but deliver less fixed‑wing reach.
Threat evolution: Adversary hypersonic and multi‑axis swarm tactics stress any carrier. Survivability will depend on distributed CSG tactics, decoys, and attritable air‑wing composition.

Implications / Next

Watch for ROKN technology demonstrators (EM‑launch testbeds, deck‑handling automation, USV/UUV integration) and for export‑market signals—especially navies pursuing low‑crew, high‑sortie sea control. At ADEX‑adjacent briefings and future MADEX events, expect more detail on the combat system software, sortie‑generation metrics, and crew size targets.