Swedish aerospace company GKN Aerospace has developed a compact turbojet engine and a corresponding UAV demonstrator under Project Otto, a Swedish Ministry of Defense initiative aimed at rapidly developing a new long-range strike capability. Although the aircraft is officially described as a drone demonstrator, its stated characteristics place it much closer to a cruise missile or one-way effector.
The demonstrator was unveiled at an air show held at Malmen Air Base in Linköping. GKN Aerospace said that both the engine and the aircraft were developed in less than a year, despite Project Otto having been announced in November 2025 as an 18-month initiative.
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One of the most notable features of the new engine is the extensive use of additive manufacturing. By 3D-printing engine components, GKN Aerospace can simplify production, reduce manufacturing time and potentially make it easier to scale the production of compact turbojet engines. The company also emphasizes that the engine contains no U.S. components or technologies, making it ITAR-free and therefore less dependent on U.S. export-control restrictions.
The demonstrator itself is designed to carry a payload of between 100 and 300 kilograms over distances ranging from 600 to 1,000 kilometers. According to Swedish Brigadier General Carl-Fredrik Edström, cited by Warsight, the first flight is expected no later than early 2027. The Swedish Ministry of Defense awarded GKN Aerospace a contract worth 150 million Swedish kronor, or approximately $15.8 million, for the project.
Although GKN Aerospace is headquartered in the United Kingdom, the project brings together expertise from several companies within its group. Swedish Volvo Aero contributed to the development of the propulsion system, while Dutch Fokker was involved in the aircraft itself. This industrial structure allows Sweden to combine domestic aerospace expertise with capabilities from across GKN Aerospace's European network.
For Ukraine, however, the most interesting aspect of Project Otto may not be the demonstrator itself. Its compact turbojet engine could be particularly relevant to Ukraine's growing long-range strike capabilities. Ukrainian long-range weapons are already being produced and used against targets deep behind the frontline, but further scaling of such systems depends in part on access to relatively inexpensive, mass-produced small turbojet engines.
The performance demonstrated by Project Otto makes the engine especially noteworthy in this context. If a compact propulsion system can enable the delivery of a 300-kilogram payload to 600 kilometers, or a 100-kilogram payload to 1,000 kilometers, it could provide a useful propulsion option for a range of Ukrainian long-range strike platforms. An ITAR-free design could also simplify potential technology transfers, licensing arrangements and production outside the United States.
Sweden has also demonstrated a willingness to deepen defense-industrial cooperation with Ukraine, making Project Otto a potentially interesting area for future collaboration. While the Swedish demonstrator remains at the development stage, its combination of rapid development, additive manufacturing, ITAR-free technology and long-range performance could offer Ukraine a valuable model, and potentially a source of propulsion technology, for expanding its own long-range strike production.
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