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APCO Aviation
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CERTIFICATION

In cases where the application or the customer requires human-rated certification that is not currently defined by the authorities, APCO Defence Industries can offer the above certification services in alignment with EN European Norm standards, ensuring the highest possible safety benchmarks for custom and specialized requirements.

At APCO Defence Industries, quality and compliance are built into every product we design and manufacture. We specialize in developing canopies, harnesses, airbags, and parachutes that meet the highest EN European Norm certification standards, ensuring safety, reliability, and operational readiness for defense, aerospace, and special mission applications.

MILITARY-GRADE

Certification – Human rated

Certification – Human rated

The EN certification can only be obtained through an accredited certification laboratory, and we work with such accredited external laboratories to carry out rigorous certification programs. Our testing capabilities include:

  • Parachute Shock & Load Testing – This process is divided into two stages. First, the shock test: the parachute is laid out vertically like a wall across the track, with a rope attached to a fast-moving truck. As the truck accelerates, the rope slack is taken up, applying a sudden and massive shock load to the canopy. A pre-defined weak link must break without causing any damage to the parachute. Only upon successful completion of the shock test is the load test performed, where the parachute is connected to a truck that accelerates along a runway, gradually increasing speed to achieve a dynamic load of up to 4,000 kg.
  • Helicopter Deployment Testing – In-flight parachute deployment from helicopters to evaluate real-world aerodynamic performance and reliability.
  • Helicopter Drop Testing – Free-drop testing of payloads to validate opening forces, descent rates, and deployment sequence reliability.
  • Impact Measurements – High-precision instrumentation to measure landing forces on various terrains, ensuring mission-ready performance.
  • Strength & Durability Testing – Tensile and structural integrity testing for harnesses, airbags, and load-bearing components to verify compliance with EN and applicable defense standards.
  • Airbag Performance Evaluation – Impact energy absorption, inflation speed, and pressure retention tests for UAV, manned aircraft, and ground-based applications.

Our certification process ensures that every product meets not only EN standards but also defense-grade operational requirements. By combining over 50 years of aerodynamic expertise with state-of-the-art testing facilities, APCO Defence Industries delivers certified solutions that are trusted in both civil and military operations worldwide.

MILITARY-GRADE

Certification – Human rated

Why Certification Matters

Certified equipment guarantees predictable, repeatable, and safe performance, reducing operational risk and ensuring compliance with international procurement requirements. Whether for emergency systems, UAV recovery, or mission-critical drops, our certification services ensure your systems perform exactly as designed – when it matters most. The certification process also proves independent results of tests by an accredited, well-known, objective body, and can help obtain FAI approvals and proof of safety for human applications – especially valuable in the case of air taxis and new-generation VTOL human-carrying systems.

Certification – Human rated

EN
APCO Aviation
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