When recovery conditions are uncertain, your UAV or mission-critical platform needs to be ready for both land and water landing.
APCO Aviation Defense develops amphibious textile recovery solutions that combine controlled descent, impact protection, and flotation to help preserve UAVs, payloads, and mission-critical systems until retrieval.
Not every mission ends in a controlled landing zone. Platforms may come down on land, in water, or in areas where retrieval is delayed.
An amphibious recovery solution helps prepare for those scenarios by supporting:
The goal is simple: keep the asset protected, afloat, and recoverable.
APCO’s amphibious recovery systems can be integrated with the parachute system or developed as a separate flotation solution.
The parachute manages descent and impact protection. The amphibious textile element provides flotation after water landing, using active or passive inflation depending on the mission and platform requirements.
The design considers:
Your team brings the platform and mission knowledge. APCO brings recovery, flotation, aerodynamics, and textile engineering expertise.
Together, both teams define the solution around the platform, payload, and recovery environment. Where possible, the amphibious element is integrated into the parachute, allowing descent, impact protection, and flotation to work together.
Amphibious recovery is not built around one standard material package. The right combination depends on the platform, flotation time, inflation method, loads, and retrieval plan.
This is where textile engineering provides flexibility. Nylon, polyester, TPU, latex, and other weldable materials can be integrated around the platform. Materials are selected to balance strength, weight, air retention, durability, and reuse. Anti-corrosion treatments can be considered where metal hardware is exposed to water.
Complex recovery projects move forward when both teams share the same understanding of the mission, platform, and technical direction.
Your team brings the platform and operational knowledge. APCO Aviation Defense brings recovery, flotation, and textile engineering expertise. A clear process keeps everyone aligned through production.
Our experience goes beyond adding a flotation device to a recovery system. It allows us to define how the platform must behave throughout descent, water contact, flotation, and retrieval—and translate those conditions into a lightweight, low-bulk recovery solution.
What This Expertise Means in Practice
Tell us what you need to protect, where the platform may land, and how long it must remain afloat. Together, we can explore how they can work as one defense textile solution.
At APCO Aviation Defense, we bring our experience, technical understanding and commitment to every stage, helping your team move forward and keep critical assets protected.
