Sir Chris Deverell is a retired four-star General who spent nearly 40 years in the British Army, culminating as Commander of the UK’s Joint Forces Command.

A vocal advocate for defence modernisation, he pushed for digital innovation inside the MoD and founded its first Innovation Hub.

Today, he advises and invests in cutting-ed ge startups like Helsing and Cambridge Aerospace, making him one of the rare European generals shaping the defence innovation ecosystem.

We discuss winning in a pan-European go-to-market, procurement reforms and future technologies that interest him.

Mikolaj is the founder of Expeditions Fund, an early-stage VC firm focused on national security. What began in Poland has since expanded across Europe, backing companies like Alpine Eagle, Comand AI, Orasio, and Cambridge Aerospace.

In our conversation, we discuss:
🔹 Why Poland is emerging as a defense tech hub
🔹 The categories he’s most excited about
🔹 What it takes to win a pan-European go-to-market

Srdjan is the cofounder and CEO of OrqaFPV, an European company that first made its mark building drone components and full-stack drones. 

Orqa designed what many consider the best FPV goggles on the market, competing head-to-head with Chinese giant DJI. 

After raising a Seed round with Lightspeed, the company has become one of Europe’s most compelling players—sitting at the intersection of reducing reliance on Chinese supply chains, the rapid growth of the defense drone market, and the push toward full autonomy.

Srdjan has a unique perspective on building great hardware in Europe, winning across several geographies and how procurement in defense is evolving.