APCO Aviation Defense develops lightweight, low-bulk recovery textile solutions for UAVs, aerospace platforms, and other mission-critical applications exposed to flame, hot gases, engine exhaust, pyrotechnics, or radiant heat.
These recovery systems are defined around the complete thermal and mechanical environment, including the canopy, lines, seams, deployment bag, risers, and attachment points, so heat resistance does not come at the expense of reliable deployment or payload protection.
High-temperature exposure affects more than material selection. It can influence how the recovery system opens, how loads are transferred through the structure, how seams perform, and how the system behaves after folding, vibration, or repeated packing.
When materials such as Kevlar are required, the design must also account for their lower elasticity and sensitivity to bending.
The objective is to preserve reliable deployment, protect the payload, and reduce stress on the platform while operating in a high-temperature environment.
Depending on the platform and mission, the recovery solution may include:
There is no single material package for every high-temperature application. Material selection depends on the thermal environment, deployment method, structural loads, and operational requirements.
Potential materials include Kevlar, Nomex®, fiberglass, coated fabrics, and protective thermal layers. The selected combination must balance heat resistance, strength, weight, durability, flexibility, and deployment reliability.
Fire-resistant materials cannot simply replace conventional fabrics. Kevlar and other high-temperature textiles have different mechanical properties that affect flexibility, packing, deployment, and load distribution.
The canopy, suspension lines, seams, deployment bag, risers, and attachment points must therefore be considered together as one integrated recovery system.
We work with your team through every stage of the project to deliver reliable, mission-ready solutions.
Align on mission needs, operational constraints, and success criteria.
Engineer lightweight, low-bulk solutions built around performance.
Prototype and test to verify reliability and safety.
Manufacture with quality control and timely delivery.
Provide documentation, training, and ongoing support.
APCO Aviation Defense works within the standards, certifications, and regulatory frameworks that support defense and aerospace programs.
APCO Aviation Defense combines lightweight, low-bulk recovery-system engineering with defense textile expertise for demanding operating environments. This allows thermal exposure, deployment behavior, structural loads, and payload protection to be considered as connected parts of the same recovery solution.
Solutions are shaped around what must be recovered, captured or protected.
Compact textile solutions help reduce integration burden and support prototypes, small production runs and larger project needs without requiring large batches.
Net materials, deployment logic and structural behavior are evaluated for the application.
Selection and development are guided by the operating conditions and the validation required.
Explore ready product options developed for lightweight recovery, precision airdrop and mission-ready integration.
Controlled descent solutions for speed reduction and safer recovery.
Steerable canopy solutions for guided descent and improved landing control.
High-performance gliding parachutes for precision recovery and delivery.
Lightweight cruciform and cross parachutes for recovery applications.
Practical guidance on UAV recovery, parachute systems and protective textiles from APCO’s engineering team.
It is a recovery system designed for UAVs, aerospace platforms, and other mission-critical applications that may be exposed to flame, hot gases, engine exhaust, pyrotechnics, or radiant heat.
High-temperature exposure can influence deployment behavior, load transfer, seam performance, flexibility, packing, and how the system performs after vibration or repeated folding.
Depending on the mission, potential materials can include Kevlar, Nomex®, fiberglass, coated fabrics, and protective thermal layers.
No. Kevlar has different mechanical properties, including lower elasticity and sensitivity to bending, so its effect on packing, deployment, load distribution, and system flexibility must also be considered.
The complete recovery system may include the canopy, suspension lines, seams, deployment bag, bridles, risers, attachment points, and other protective or deployment components.
Depending on the application, the system may incorporate reefing, staged deployment, or other opening-shock control methods to manage loads during deployment.
The canopy, lines, seams, deployment bag, risers, and attachment points are considered together so that heat resistance, structural loads, deployment behavior, and payload protection remain part of one integrated recovery solution.
