New tech turns military aircraft scrap into high-performance drones

Uplift360, a UK- and Luxembourg-based advanced materials startup, has raised an oversubscribed USD 8.8 million seed round led by Extantia and supported significantly by the NATO Innovation Fund, Promus Ventures, and Fund F. The company specializes in a proprietary low-temperature chemical recycling process called ChemR, which regenerates high-value composite materials—such as carbon fiber, aramid (Kevlar-class), and hybrid laminates—from military aircraft scrap, including Eurofighter Typhoon parts, without degrading their performance. Unlike conventional recycling methods that weaken fibers, Uplift360’s non-degenerative technology produces materials that can be reused directly in high-performance aerospace, defense, and other industrial supply chains. Uplift360 is collaborating with major aerospace and defense firms like Babcock, Leonardo, and Rolls-Royce to demonstrate the technology’s application in recovering materials from end-of-life rotor blades and aircraft components, converting them into mission-ready drone parts and supporting next-generation aerospace manufacturing