[SatNews] Magna Parva, the company specializing in solving problems in extreme engineering, has appointed UAV expert Chris Day to immediately head up its Defence business. The appointment will give a huge boost to the Company’s expertise in unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAVs), a field of increasing focus for Magna Parva. Chris Day is a senior figure in the industry and has unrivalled international experience in UAVs. His previous position was VP ISTAR & UAV Systems at global aerospace company Thales, where he was also Director of the 150 million pound Thales / Elbit JV company UtaCs. Prior to this, Chris was responsible for UK MOD UAS Procurement Programmes at the Defence Procurement Agency, and before that held senior positions at Dstl, DERA, DRA and RAE Farnborough. An engineer by background, Chris has spent his entire career associated with UAV programmes and remains a passionate believer in their further potential. The Company is developing a number of related initiatives to be announced shortly. Magna Parva has previously shown its R3™ Restraint and Release Mechanism – a high reliability, low mass solution to equipment release from aircraft in flight, and in military vehicle equipment deployment.