For almost a year, the start-up Destinus has supplied the armed forces with hundreds of drones in great secrecy. Its founder, Mikhail Kokorich, renounced his Russian citizenship to help Ukraine face Russia.
For months, Destinus has supplied Ukraine with hundreds of drones in great secrecy. This Swiss start-up is not unknown. We met her at the Paris Air Show and at Vivatech. Just two years after its creation by Mikhail Kokorich, it presented the model of a hypersonic plane flying on hydrogen to connect Paris and New York in 1 hour and a half in 2030.
In parallel with this project intended for commercial aviation (passenger and freight), the Destinus teams were developing in the greatest secrecy a range of drones for military purposes, reveals Challenges. Since 2023, it has supplied hundreds to the Ukrainian army, according to its founder. These devices are delivered in separate parts then assembled in Ukraine in a secret army base.
“We are already among the main drone producers in Europe. (…) Ukraine is one of our main customers,” Mikhail Kokorich, president and founder of Destinus, assures the magazine.
Three drone models
Since mid-2023, only two years after its creation, Destinus has been supplying hundreds of drones to the Ukrainian armed forces in great secrecy. The manufacturer started with the Lord, a model with a range of 2,000 kilometers designed for intelligence, jamming and electromagnetic interception. Two other models, the Ruta and the Hornet are in preparation.
“We started developing Lord early last year and launched mass production at the end of the year. We started developing Ruta in the second half of 2023 and plan to mass produce it from here the middle of 2024. Likewise, we started developing the Hornet last year and should start mass production by the end of the year,” explains Mikhail Kokorich to BFM Business.
The Ruta is a surveillance drone capable of carrying out air-to-ground attacks and surveillance. The Hornet, an ultra-fast (300 km/h) drone hunter, will be optimized to map areas and serve as a telecommunications relay. If the Lord is built in Germany, the Ruta will be assembled in Ukraine with components produced in Spain and the Netherlands. Nothing has yet been decided for the Hornet, the manager tells us.
“All our commercial drone projects are dual-use and not purely military,” the founder of Destinus tells us.
The founder renounces Russian citizenship
Mikhail Kokorich, 47 years old, has a rather extensive background. Before creating the aeronautics company Destinus, this Russian from Siberia, with an engineering degree in physics, created his first company in 1991. He left Russia after Vladimir Putin came to power. He then left for the United States to create other companies and then moved to Switzerland to launch Destinus.
A few days ago, the founder of Destinus officially announced on X (formerly Twitter) his decision to renounce his Russian citizenship. It is a political choice for this opponent of Vladimir Putin who opposes the invasion of Ukraine. This decision could also allow him to develop his business wherever he wishes, particularly in the United States where his Russian nationality has been an obstacle.
What is his nationality today? The leader remains cautious on this obviously extremely sensitive subject. “I have the citizenship of a country to which I am also grateful to have become a citizen. As a private person, I prefer not to reveal further details. I am also grateful to Switzerland and France for allowing me to reside in these wonderful countries.”
An upcoming installation in Paris
Mikhail Kokorich created Destinus in Switzerland in 2021. Recently, Michel Friedling, former General of the Air and Space Force and first Commander of Space (2019 to 2022), joined the board of directors of the start-up.
The company employs 170 people and has factories in Munich, Madrid and Hengelo in the Netherlands. Since its creation in 2021, it has raised 55 million Swiss francs (around 58 million euros). It also obtained 12 million euros from the Spanish government to develop supersonic flights powered by hydrogen in collaboration with Spanish companies and technology centers as well as universities.
From now on, its leader sees the future of Destinus in France. Mikhail Kokorich plans to move the Destinus headquarters to Paris and create a production site near the capital.
“We have had a company in France for almost three years. We are now transferring the functions of the holding headquarters from Switzerland to France. At the same time, we are staying in Switzerland and continuing to develop supersonic and hypersonic technologies there,” explains us. Mikhail Kokorich.
In addition to France’s aeronautical and military expertise, it is also “the ease of obtaining export licenses” that attracts him. It also intends to carry out supersonic tests from Rochefort airport in Charente-Maritime.
Will the drones for Ukraine be produced in France? The boss of the start-up is playing the outstretched hand card: “it depends on the support we will receive in France, both on the regulatory level (export licenses) and on the R&D and production level”.
