IrvinGQ®
Tony Smith serves as the Vice President of Engineering and Quality at IrvinGQ since March 2021, overseeing engineering functions and quality assurance while also holding a directorial role. Prior to this, Tony was the Chief Engineer for Land Autonomy at QinetiQ, responsible for the REASON off-road vehicle autonomy system and the TITAN unmanned ground vehicle. Tony's extensive experience at QinetiQ includes leadership roles focusing on innovation in air and space, future combat air systems, and technical management for unmanned air systems, establishing a strong reputation in airworthiness and safety for military applications. A seasoned engineer, Tony's career began with roles at British Aerospace and Cranfield University, culminating in a PhD in Aerodynamics from Cranfield University.
IrvinGQ®
1919 – Present IrvinGQ® is the world’s most trusted design and manufacturing resource for Aerial Delivery Systems, Naval Decoy Solutions, Parachutes, Search & Rescue Equipment. We preserve the internationally established brand names of Irvin & GQ Parachutes and maintain for over 100 years, the proud traditions of these predecessors, in continuing to supply products of quality and reliability. Our work is highly skilled and interesting, and very meaningful. We regularly hear of and publicise incidents where lives have been saved by the products made by our employees. The formation of IrvinGQ®: On the 19th April 1919, Leslie Leroy Irvin made the world’s first free-fall parachute descent in the USA and formed Irving Air Chutes later that year, establishing a European factory for the mass production of parachutes in England in 1926. At about the same time, James Gregory and Sir Raymond Quilter foresaw the need for widely available and dependable parachute systems for aircrew and formed GQ Parachutes in 1932. The 1930s saw both companies established as major suppliers of emergency escape parachutes to the world’s air forces. Irvin-GQ was formed in June 2001 following the acquisition of Irvin Aerospace by Alchemy Partners and the resulting merger with GQ Parachutes Limited. Following reorganisation of Group activities in 2007 we began trading as Airborne Systems. On the 12th June 2018 we proudly launched as IrvinGQ®. Visit www.irvingq.com Contact +44 (1656) 749000 to chat with us Email: sales@irvingq.com