Acceleration programfor Ukrainian defence startups

With over 39 years of experience in the defence and aerospace industry, LTC(Ret) David Hendrickson is competent in providing his expertise on UAS issues and the global trends of defence industry development.

He also has over 20 years of military experience as an Army Aviation Officer serving in various command and staff roles from Platoon to Corps operations in the U.S. Army, incl. extensive Pentagon acquisition and UAS program experience.

He holds a BS from USMA West Point New York and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School in Chicago, Illinois.

Decorated retired Colonel from the British Army. Over 30 years in the defence industry, 22 have been spent in the UAV space. Deployed tactical and mini UAVs into two war zones. Developed export channels for UK UAV businesses and successfully exported products to NATO countries.

Deep knowledge of the UK UAV sector with expertise extending to the UK Government relations.

Small business mentor in the UK.

Experience in the UAV area since 2016. At "UkrSpecSystems" held the positions of: Head of technical documentation Dep-t, Deputy General Director for armament modernisation and development, CTO. In times of the full-scale war, held the position of CTO at "DeViro".

Holds a high level of expertise in the following areas: market analysis and customer’s demand; admission to operation and implementation of state defence order; production scaling; transfer of technologies; organisation of the work with the military customers; building-up of the life cycle processes of military equipment. Achievements: PD-2, Shark, mini-Shark, RAM-2, Leleka-100M2, Leleka-LR, set-up the production of the Ukraine-made ICEs for the use of UAV.

Strategic Board Advisor, Private Equity & Defense Startups; President, Sarcos Defense (Robotics); Vice President & General Manager, Aeryon Defense (UAS); Senior Director of Business Development, Sierra Nevada Corporation (Aerospace); US Marine Corps Officer and Attack Helicopter pilot.

With more than 26 years of international dual-use aerospace, defense, and commercial business leadership experience, LtCol (Ret.) Tom Jackson has led global P & Ls of $250M/100+ people executing complex systems integration engineering on US and international crewed and uncrewed aircraft programs. Tom and his team’s rapid and impressive growth at Aeryon Defense while launching a disruptive new UAS technology became the catalyst for the acquisition of Aeryon by FLIR Systems for $200M.

Tom is a retired US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, serving 25 active and reserve years with multiple deployed operational tours as an AH-1W Attack Helicopter pilot.

Tom is a graduate of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, and holds a Master of Business Administration in International Business from Regis University.

COL(Ret) Malinionis is accomplished in strategic military planning, international deployments, operational management, and civilian liaison. Leadership in shaping Lithuanian and Baltic Defence Industries. Spearheaded initiatives such as MILEX, MAPEX, and wargaming at various operational levels, incl. key roles at the European Union Battle Group (EUBG).

Qualifications include operational planning from the UK Joint Forces Command, naval command training from the US Naval War College, and expertise in civilian protection, environmental protection, and NATO peace support.

Formerly the U.S. Air Force Programs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in the Office of Defense Cooperation Warsaw, Poland. 

Ron has also served as an Instructor of Security Cooperation Studies at the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) and is currently a co-chair of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM)-Poland Defense Committee.

Since 1994 has been serving in security and defence forces of Ukraine, holding operational positions. One of the coordinators of Kyiv Automaidan community.

Aerorozvidka emerged as an association of military volunteers and enthusiasts back in 2014. Later, the Drone Team and Delta Team were established, known as the teams that have been working on development of the situational awareness systems and R-18 drone. Today, the organisation's main focus is the development of network-centric and robotic capabilities which systematically reinforce defence and security forces of Ukraine.