With its founder professing a love of model aeroplanes that dated back to his childhood, it is little surprise that Turbo-Jet Technologies has won about $4 million in funding from the Federal Government.
The Midland-based company produces micro-jet engines and unmanned aerial vehicles and has received the funding as part of the Government’s Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program for the two projects.
The first project is its Jandu High Speed UAV that will be able to carry a payload of up to 50 kilograms, fly at more than 400 kilometres an hour and loiter in the air for about 15 hours.
That payload could include surveillance equipment or, as has been demonstrated in the Middle East with US UAVs, weapons.
The second project Turbo-Jet is involved with is a joint one with Australian Defence Industries to trial Bioseeker technology, a sensor package based on insect vision that can autonomously track moving targets. The Bioseeker technology has been about 10 years in the making.
That technology can be applied to UAVs and a range of weapons from unguided rockets through to modern guided munitions.
Turbo-Jet will be providing the UAV for that project, which it has developed in conjunction with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
This is not the first time Turbo-Jet has been involved with defence work.
It has done some work with the Spanish military and previous projects with Australian forces.
The jet engines the company produces are light enough to be picked up with one hand yet powerful enough to propel at 1.5 metre long aircraft at about 400 kilometres an hour.
Turbo-Jet managing director Chris Mounkley said he had been playing with model aeroplanes since he was nine years old.
After completing time with the military in the UK and moving to Australia, he decided to do something with model aircraft again, only this time using jet engines.
Turbo-Jet, which until recently has been running from the rather nondescript premises of Diesel Engine Services and Spares in Redcliffe (the company is moving to a factory unit in Midland), was formed about six years ago.
Mr Mounkley said he and fellow DESS owner Shaun Hilton had funded the fledgling aerospace player.
"As a small to medium-sized enterprise it was hard for us to break into the aeronautical industry," he said.
Mr Mounkley said ADI had "discovered" his company’s research and teamed with it.
"Without ADI we wouldn’t have gone this far," he said.
The company hopes to come up with the UAV that can be used by the Australian air, naval and land forces.
ADI Advanced Systems general manager John Best said the engines the two companies were going to demonstrate would allow for a new class of UAV.
"They’ll be able to carry bigger payloads, have a higher dash speed and loiter longer than what we have now," Dr Best said.
Defence Minister Robert Hill, who announced the awarding of the CTD program funding at Turbo-Jet, said the UAVs were emerging as a key tool for the defence forces around the world.
"If we have the ability for a niche advantage then we need to invest in that," he said.
"If we don’t then somebody else will take the ground from us."
