YOUR STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR EUROPE

European market access for drone manufacturers.

CAP guides manufacturers in China and across Asia through EU drone regulation — class marking, conformity assessment, design verification and operational approval — and holds the European production approval that lets units be released here.

Request a compliance review See what Europe requires
ORGANISATION APPROVAL
APPROVAL NO.
AT.21G
ISSUED BY
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
PRIVILEGE
Production Organisation — Part 21 Subpart G
SCOPE
Unmanned aircraft systems (drones), parts and appliances
TERRITORY
EU member states and EASA associated countries
EASA Production, inspection and release performed inside the European Union.
Why this is hard

Certification does not travel across borders.

A drone approved at home must be assessed again in Europe, under Regulation (EU) 2019/945 for the product itself and 2019/947 for how it is flown. Depending on class and operation, that can mean a Notified Body, an accredited laboratory, a design verification by EASA, and a national authority — four different organisations, in a particular order.

The rules are published. Which body applies to your drone, which laboratory is accredited for your test, and what an authority expects to see are not. That is where the months go.

The certificate in your file may not be the one Europe recognises

A test report from a domestic laboratory, or a CE document issued without a Notified Body, is the most common reason a shipment is held at the European border. For classes that require it, conformity has to run through a body listed in the EU's NANDO database. We check this before anything ships.

What Europe requires

Two regulations, three routes, one answer per product.

Which route applies depends on the drone's weight and class and on how your customers intend to fly it. The assessment below is the first thing we do for every manufacturer.

RouteWhat it involvesWho issues it
Open categoryClass marking C0–C6 and CE markingConformity assessment against 2019/945, technical file, EU declaration of conformity, class identification label and sound power label. C0 and C4 may be self-declared; the other classes require a Notified Body.Notified Body listed in NANDO
Specific categorySORA and operational authorisationOperational risk assessment, mitigations and containment, submitted for authorisation — or a standard scenario, or a Light UAS Operator Certificate for operators flying at scale.National aviation authority
Higher-risk operationsDesign Verification ReportVerification of the drone's design against the technical requirements set for the intended operation, required where the risk class demands it.EASA
Across all routesProduction and release in EuropeFinal assembly, inspection and release under an approved production organisation, so units carry European conformity documents.Held by CAP — AT.21G
What we do

One partner for the whole chain.

Product compliance

Class marking and CE

We determine the correct class for your drone, assemble the technical file, and take it through a Notified Body to a class label and CE marking that European customs and customers accept.

  • Class determination C0–C6
  • Technical file and declaration of conformity
  • Notified Body selection and submission
  • Accredited laboratory testing
Operational approval

SORA and design verification

For drones flown beyond the open category, we prepare the risk assessment and design verification your customers will need in order to operate what you sell them.

  • SORA and standard scenarios
  • Design Verification Report with EASA
  • Operational authorisation support
  • Light UAS Operator Certificate
European production

Assembly and release under our POA

Under our Part 21G approval, final assembly, inspection and release can take place inside the EU, with European conformity documents attached to every unit.

  • Final assembly and inspection
  • Quality system under an approved POA
  • Release documentation and traceability
  • Spares and repair structure
Market access

Restrictions, security and distribution

Product approval is not the only gate. We assess where your drone can actually be sold — including cybersecurity obligations and the member-state rules that restrict foreign-built drones in public and critical-infrastructure use — and open the channels that remain.

  • NIS2 and supply-chain review
  • Member-state restriction mapping
  • Operator and integrator introductions
  • Public tender support
How we work

Four stages from the factory to the European market.

01

Compliance review

We examine the drone, its intended operations and the documents you already hold, then set out the route that applies, which of your existing certificates Europe will recognise, what is missing, and what it will cost. If Europe is not viable for your product, you hear that here.

02

Bodies and testing

We match your drone to the right Notified Body and accredited laboratories, book the work, and assemble design data, test evidence, manuals and risk assessment into the form European authorities expect.

03

Production and release

Where the route requires it, your drone enters our approved production organisation for final assembly, inspection and release, so units reaching customers carry European conformity documents.

04

Market entry

Distribution, tenders, operator training and after-sales are set up. You keep the product; we hold the European structure around it.

The chain

Four organisations decide. We deal with all of them.

Most manufacturers reach us after approaching one of these directly and being told it is not their remit. Each governs a different part of the process, and a file prepared for one is rarely accepted by another.

Notified BodiesAssess the product against 2019/945 and grant the class label. Must be listed in NANDO to count.
Accredited laboratoriesPerform the environmental, electromagnetic and acoustic testing the technical file rests on.
National authoritiesAuthorise operations in the specific category and register operators, member state by member state.
EASAIssues design verification for higher-risk operations and approves production organisations such as ours.
Platforms we work with

Civil work first, and everything the same drone does in an emergency.

Commercial

Drones earning their keep on ordinary days
  • Agricultural sprayingVTOL platforms already in daily service across Asian farmland
  • Mountain supplyCargo lift to huts and sites that roads and helicopters serve badly
  • Survey and inspectionInfrastructure, energy and forestry operators

Dual-use

The same drones, tasked by public authorities
  • Firefighting supportObservation and payload delivery over terrain crews cannot reach
  • Search and rescueAlpine and maritime operations, day and night
  • Disaster reliefSupply drops and damage assessment when ground routes are gone
Who we are

Every market needs a partner who knows it.

No company enters China without a Chinese partner who knows the room, and the same holds in the other direction. European regulation is not hostile to foreign manufacturers, but it is specific, slow, and unforgiving of a file that arrives in the wrong shape.

CAP is a European aviation company holding an EASA production organisation approval, working with the Notified Bodies, laboratories and authorities that govern this market, on behalf of manufacturers who do not intend to build a European organisation of their own.

AT.21GEASA-approved production organisation
2019/945 & 947The two regulations that decide market access
EU + EFTATerritory covered by a single approval route
Five decadesCombined experience in aviation certification and production
Start here

Start with a review, not a contract.

Send the drone specification and how you intend it to be operated. You receive a written assessment of the route that applies, which of your existing certificates Europe recognises, the evidence still missing, the bodies involved and a realistic timeline.

We reply in English, German or Mandarin.

Ira Villinger
Your contact at CAP
[email protected] LinkedIn profile
Send review request
Specifications are treated as confidential and are not shared with third parties without your written instruction.