Call prep · Illia Cheherst · Kiev factory

What to Ask Illia

A prioritized question sheet for your call. Goal: leave knowing exactly what the factory is, whether Illia is a real partner, and where your AI/IoT is the irreplaceable piece, so you arrive at Kraków and Dnipro with answers, not hopes.
Contact  Illia Cheherst Email  chegerst.i@gmail.com Call  Tue 2026-05-26, 18:45 Kyiv (Google Meet) Intro by  Sayed Feeds  Kraków Sat + Dnipro

Posture for this call

Listen more than you pitch. Your relationships are not in doubt; what you need is data. Your single most important discovery is where your AI/IoT is essential rather than nice-to-have, because Illia likely already owns the hardware and the factory. Find his gap, do not sell him your solution. End the call with concrete facts (capacity, certifications, what he wants from you) and a clear next step.

If you only get to ask five

  1. What exactly do you build today, and are you codified / on the Brave1 Market / an approved DPA supplier? Tells you if he is the real localization key that lets a brigade legally buy.
  2. What is your biggest unsolved problem right now? The fastest route to where your software/AI is actually needed. Let him define the gap.
  3. What are you looking for in a partner, capital, technology, software, sales, or components? Tells you whether you are essential or a middleman, before you invest a cent.
  4. Can you build a fiber FPV in the ~75,000 UAH (~$1,800) class with better cable and better battery, and at what cost? This is Dimas's MVP. Can the factory actually deliver it?
  5. Can you produce at volume and handle certification so a brigade like my contact's can buy directly? Connects the factory to a real, funded customer you already have.

i Know your terms (so you sound like an insider)

Plain-English definitions for the procurement words on this sheet. These are the gates between "a unit likes it" and "the state actually pays for it." Source: the deep-research report.
DPA — Defence Procurement Agency
Ukraine's central state arms buyer. The single official customer for lethal military kit.
Why you care: a "DPA-approved supplier" has been vetted (legitimate business, fulfilled contracts, no Russia ties) so the government is allowed to buy from it. No approval, no state sales.
Codification (NATO Stock Number)
An official military catalogue number a product gets only after passing state / military trials.
Why you care: if a drone is not codified, the DPA is legally barred from buying it, no matter how good. It is the gate to all state money, and the trials are the slow part.
Brave1 / Brave1 Market
The government defense-tech cluster (1,500+ companies) and its online marketplace where military units browse and order approved drones straight from the makers.
Why you care: being listed = visible and buyable by units. It is where "a unit likes it" becomes "a unit orders it."
DOT-Chain Defence
An Amazon-style ordering platform letting empowered units spend their own budgets directly on FPVs from selected suppliers (the "~700 units" figure is a project-research estimate, not confirmed by the contacts). Illia adds that DOT-Chain also carries an efficiency / target-success rating that demotes cheap, low-quality producers.
Why you care: it is where unit money actually flows, and the catalogue is Ukrainian makers only, which is the core reason you need a local partner like Illia.
e-points (Army of Drones Bonus)
Units earn points for video-verified kills and redeem them for equipment (not cash) on the Brave1 Market. This is Serhii's "Yabali."
Why you care: a second, non-budget way units acquire drones, relevant to how your product could be paid for.
Localization (Defense City / Law 13392)
Rules forcing production into Ukraine, local parts and jobs, with penalties for non-compliance; the Defense City tax regime excludes foreign-incorporated firms.
Why you care: this is the legal reason a foreigner needs a Ukrainian entity or a local partner. It is exactly the gap Illia could fill.

A Who Illia is and what the factory actually is

Qualify the asset before you build a plan around it. "A factory in Kiev" is a headline, not a fact yet.
What does the factory produce today, and what are your main product lines?
Confirm: FPV, fiber FPV, bombers, components, or anti-drone / EW. Are you the same person Sayed described with an anti-drone company and a university role?
Are you the owner, and how big is the team and the operation?
Decision-maker or middleman? Engineers vs assembly? This sizes how seriously to treat any offer.
Where is the plant, what is your monthly capacity, and how much of it is used right now?
Idle capacity is leverage and a reason he wants a partner. Ukraine's sector runs ~37-50% idle, so spare capacity is normal and useful to you.
Are your products codified (NATO code), listed on the Brave1 Market, and is the factory an approved DPA supplier?localization key
The single biggest barrier for a foreigner. If he already has this, he is the piece that makes the whole thing sellable. If not, that is a long road for both of you.
Which units or brigades do you already supply, and are those government contracts, donations, or e-points orders?
Proves real traction and shows the channels he can already reach. Connects to how my contact's brigade would buy.

B Are they producing and selling, and the market right now

You asked the right thing: is this a live business, and what is the scenario for producers today? Cross-check his answers against the macro picture from the research, the sector runs ~37-50% idle, money (not factories) is the bottleneck for commodity drones, while advanced and high-quality drones are genuinely short.
Are you producing and selling right now? What volume per month, and what is your best-selling product?
Confirms a live, revenue-generating operation, not a plan on paper. The bestseller tells you their real strength and where they already win.
Are you running at full capacity, or do you have spare capacity on the line?
The sector runs ~37-50% idle because the state cannot buy all it can make. Spare capacity is your leverage, and his reason to want a new product to fill the line.
How would you describe the market for producers right now, is demand strong, or is funding the real bottleneck?
Cross-check vs the research: commodity FPVs are oversupplied relative to money; advanced and quality drones are genuinely short. Where he sits decides whether there is room for you.
Has the early-2026 fiber-cable price spike hit your costs, and are you looking at exports under the new "Drone Deals" framework?
Tests how current and strategic he is, domestic squeeze vs export upside. A savvy answer here is a good sign about the partner.
Who funds your buyers, state contracts via the DPA, brigade budgets, e-points, or donations?
Tells you where the money for your eventual product actually comes from, and which channel is the realistic one.

C The pain points, can the factory solve them?

Dimas's whole MVP rests on better cable and better battery. Find out if Illia has the answer or shares the problem.
Where do you source fiber cable and batteries, and have you solved the quality problem, or is it your pain too?
The cable/battery crisis is Chinese-supply-driven and industry-wide. If he has a better source or process, that is real value. If not, it is a shared problem to solve together.
What is your defect / scrap rate on fiber spools, and how do you test them before flight?
Defective coils run "about 50/50" with invisible internal faults. This opens the door to your computer-vision QC idea, listen for whether he tests by eye.
Could you build a fiber FPV in the ~75,000 UAH (~$1,800), 10-20 km class with upgraded cable and battery, at what unit cost?
This is the exact MVP. Get a real number so you know the margin room before promising anything to Dimas.
What is your view on signal loss and jamming, and how do you handle it today?
Serhii's number-one pain. Tells you if anti-jam comms is a gap the factory cannot fill alone.

D Where YOUR AI/IoT is essential

The most important block strategically. Your odds depend on finding the one thing only you bring. Steer gently, let him name the need.
Do you do any machine vision, autonomy, terminal guidance, or automated QC today, and where would software help you most?your wedge
If the factory has zero software/AI muscle, that is your lane. Candidates: computer-vision spool-defect QC, last-50m terminal lock, anti-jam comms, fleet/interoperability software.
If you could add one "smart" capability to your drones that you cannot build in-house, what would it be?
Hands him the chance to define exactly where you are irreplaceable. Gold if he names something software-shaped.
Would automated computer-vision inspection of fiber spools and components be valuable to your line?
A concrete, hardware-adjacent AI wedge that fits a cheap drone and a real, named defect problem.

E The partnership and the deal

Understand what he wants and what shape this takes, without committing on the spot.
What are you looking for in a partner, capital, technology, software, sales and access, or components?
The question that reveals your real role. If he wants only capital or sales, your AI is not central and you are exposed. If he wants tech/software, you are essential.
Are you open to co-production, a joint venture, or licensing, and which do you prefer?
Frames the structure. The research said localize-or-license is the only model that works for a foreigner.
How do you handle IP and ownership, who owns what we build together?
Protect your software/AI contribution early. Decide this before any code or money moves.
I have a company in Poland and a small one in Ukraine, can we work through that, or do you advise a different structure?
Tests the legal path and signals you already have a Ukrainian footprint, which matters for procurement.

F Path to a real sale (the Dnipro / brigade thread)

Connect the factory to the funded customer you already have.
If we build an improved drone, can you produce at volume and carry the certification so a brigade can buy it directly?
A brigade commander I know can buy with brigade money. The only missing link is a codified local maker, which may be you.
Would you supply a specific brigade directly, with my improvements integrated into your platform?
Tests willingness to let you ride on his certified product, the cleanest fast path to revenue.
Realistically, what unit cost and margin are we looking at at, say, 100 or 1,000 units?
Tells you if there is money in it at all, against $400 commodity FPVs and thin war-economy margins.

G Logistics and next steps

Will you be in Kraków this weekend, or should I plan to come to Kyiv to see the factory?
Lines up the Saturday meeting and a possible factory visit. Seeing the line in person tells you more than any call.
Could you join, or prep me for, the meeting with the brigade in Dnipro?
If the maker and the buyer are in the same room with you, the deal gets real fast.
What worries you most about working with a foreign partner, and what has killed deals like this before?
Surfaces the real risks (corruption, certification, trust) early. Serhii already warned about corruption and certification.