South African-based Cape Aerospace Technologies (CAT) is building a range of new products, including larger turbojets and a rocket for UAVs and aerial targets.
David Krige, Managing Director at Cape Aerospace Technologies, made this known in a presentation at the Virtual Aerospace and Defence Industry Day held on 22 February, organized by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s Aerospace Industry Support Initiative (AISI), which has assisted CAT.
CAT portfolio includes three small gas turbines producing 12, 25, and 46 kg of thrust for use in model aircraft, high-speed target drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, experimental aircraft, and full-size gliders.
The company’s latest design; the CAT 400 engine, which produces more thrust than the rated specification, is currently going through the industrialization and production phases. According to Cape Aerospace Technologies, it has received pre-orders for this engine. Its other products have been sold to international customers, including in the Middle East and Europe, such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
CAT also has the ability to design and manufacture composite airframes, mainly for the hobby industry. In the 2000s it built a target drone for the South African Navy, and the composite airframe as well as telemetry, comms, and turbines were designed and manufactured in-house.
The company claims that it is now working on the CAT 800, developing 800 N of thrust, and the CAT 1400, developing 1 400 N of thrust, as well as a 1 kN rocket that will eventually be capable of reaching low earth orbit (LEO).