di Federico Fubini
Mikhail Kokorich, founder of the European defence company Destinus, on cost-per-effect, magazine depth, and why Europe must build strike and interception systems at scale — alongside its national champions, not against them.
Mikhail Kokorich was born in Aginskoye, a small Siberian town not far from the border of Russia with Mongolia and China, 49 years ago. He launched his first company when he was in high school, then went on to get a university diploma in physics in Russia and an executive diploma in Stanford. He is not a citizen of Russia anymore – there is an arrest warrant on his head there – but is arguably one of the few people who are deeply shaping the war between Russia and Ukraine. He has designed and is mass producing many of the innovative weapons that allow Ukraine to defend itself and strike deep into Russia. In the process, he stands at the forefront of a technological revolution that is transforming war. In part, he is applying to Europe’s geopolitical crisis a lesson that he witnessed by getting close to Elon Musk when the US innovator built Space X.
