Founded in 1968 as Thomas Sports Equipment, our organization has played a significant role in the design and innovation of skydiving equipment. We were instrumental in developing the bag deployment system, which remains the standard method of deployment today.

In the mid-1980s, T.S.E. introduced the Tear Drop harness and container system, featuring our renowned one-pin pop-top pilot chute. This groundbreaking design was the first of its kind and quickly became one of the most popular and technically advanced rigs in the world at that time.

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In May 2003, Chris Thomas was appointed Managing Director of Thomas Sports Equipment. With extensive experience in skydiving, including representing Great Britain in multiple World Championship events and completing over 10,000 jumps, Chris brought valuable expertise to the company. Under his leadership, new systems like the Panthera, Zerox, and Pop-Top Emergency systems were developed, forming the foundation of our current offerings.

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In 2011, Chris Thomas rebranded the company as Thomas Defence Systems to focus more on providing services to armed forces worldwide. Despite this shift, we continue to supply parachute systems for the sport and film sectors, offer custom design and consultancy, provide training programs, and serve as a major supplier to one of Europe's largest skydiving brands. Our rigs have even appeared in films like Mission Impossible, The Dark Knight Rises, and James Bond.

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With over 55 years of experience in the skydiving industry and more than 16,000 parachute systems supplied, Thomas Defence Systems prides itself on being a customer-centric manufacturer. Our commitment to quality extends beyond our products to our customer service, supported by staff with qualifications such as FAA Master Parachute Rigger and BPA Advanced Parachute Rigger Examiner. Our experienced team, with a combined total of 147 years of expertise, oversees all aspects of production, maintenance, and repair of your parachute system.

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Thomas Defence Systems consistently upholds high manufacturing standards, ensuring that every rig meets our certified levels of quality. In addition to rigorous material selection, manufacturing processes, and inspections, we maintain ISO 9001-2015 certification, validated by regular internal and third-party audits. We are also compliant with the Civil Aviation Authorities Technical Standard Order (TSO) C23(d).