Cobalt Aerospace is an EASA Part 21J design organisation engineering and certifying modifications, repairs and lease-transitions for the operators of 412+ transport-category fleets worldwide. Plus a working Mandate Radar inside the site, so you never miss a compliance deadline.
// LIVE PROGRAMME
A320neo · CPDLC retrofit · 14 frames
// On the floor right now
3 STCs in cert · 2 ground-test campaigns · 1 flight test
Hangar 12 · Cranfield · MK43
// In 30 seconds, in plain English
The rest of the site goes deep on the technical detail because that’s what our customers ask for. If you’re forwarding this to a colleague who isn’t a fleet engineer — start here.
New cockpit screens. Refurbished cabins. Satellite Wi-Fi. Repairs after a hard landing. Swapping out radios because the regulator changed the rules.
You can't just bolt something to a passenger aircraft. Each modification needs an engineering case, test evidence and a stamped approval — proving the aircraft is still safe to fly.
We design the modification and issue the regulatory approval ourselves, under our own EASA licence — so operators don't have to wrangle a vendor, a sub-vendor, and an authority desk.
EASA.21J.0892
// Design Organisation Approval
412+
// STCs & major change approvals delivered
37
// States of registration covered
98.4%
// On-time TC issuance, last 24 months
// 01 — Mandate Radar · only on Cobalt
CPDLC. ADS-B v2. TCAS 7.1. ELT(DT). NVIS HEMS. They’re all coming, and they all land before 2027. We built the Mandate Radar so the operators we work with never wake up to an AOG-by-rulemaking. Click a contact, see what Cobalt would do, get a lead time and a programme cost before you pick up the phone.
// Radar window
T+0 → T+730d
// Plotted
6 mandates
01 · ICAO
T-51d
ELT(DT) — Distress Tracking
Autonomous distress-tracking ELT for global oceanic ops
02 · ICAO
T-96d
TCAS II v7.1
TCAS II Change 7.1 — fleet-wide enforcement
03 · FAA
T-106d
SC 25.795
Reinforced flight-deck door — second barrier
04 · EASA
T-142d
Link 2000+ / CPDLC
Controller-Pilot Data Link mandate — European upper airspace
05 · EASA
T-157d
SPA.HEMS.130
HEMS night operations — NVIS and HTAWS
06 · EASA
T-174d
CS 25.787
ULD restraint — revised certification basis
high risk · Communications
Link 2000+ / CPDLC · EASA · ref: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1770
All IFR flights operating above FL285 in EASA airspace must be CPDLC ATN-B1 compliant. Retrofit window for legacy fleets closes Q3 2026.
// Countdown
T-142d
due 30 Sept 2026
// Cert lead time
14–22w
Cobalt DOA delivery
// Programme cost
£180k–£320k
per fleet line
// Affected fleets
// 02 — What we do
Engineering, consultancy and programme management — under one DOA roof. No subcontracting your certification path to a third party. No surprises in the closure meeting.
Design approval, STCs and major repairs under our own DOA.
Lease transitions, regulatory mapping, continued airworthiness.
Single point of accountability across the cert lifecycle.
// 03 — STC Estimator
Built on 412 real Cobalt programmes. Fleet × scope × classification gives you a lead time, a cost band and the certification path before you commit. No discovery-call gatekeeping.
// Indicative programme
Major Change · STC
// Lead time
11–15w
// Total cost
£126k–£182k
// Certification path
// Estimate generated from 412 historical Cobalt programmes. ±15% confidence band.
// 04 — Selected programmes
// Airbus A320neo
Full retrofit of FANS-1/A+ CPDLC across 14 frames. Wiring substantiation, ATSU dual-loader, EFB integration. Issued under our DOA without delegated authority calls.
// Leonardo AW139
Night-vision compatible lighting redesign, friendly cockpit photometrics, dual-mode external lighting and Mark VIII HTAWS integration. STC issued in 22 weeks.
// Airbus A330-200
Full re-substantiation of 12-zone VIP cabin: 16G HIC compliance, 9G monument restraint, lavatory smoke detection. Coordinated with completions centre across 4 countries.
// ATR 72-600
Quick-turn retrofit of GADSS distress-tracking ELT, antenna substantiation and HIRF coupon testing. Two-aircraft pilot extended to fleet of 9.
// Talk to engineering
Lease return, mandate retrofit, novel STC, or a structural repair that nobody else will touch — we’ll come back inside a working week with a classification, a certification path, a calendar and a number.