Insights

Episode 1: Space is the New Frontline

October 21, 2025

Alain Gavin

Alain Gavin

Managing Partner - Chief Investment Officer

Space is the New Frontline


The battlefield is no longer just land, sea, or air
- it’s now cyber, space, and information too. From drones in NATO airspace to satellites under attack, every domain is contested.

The New Theatre of Conflict 🛰

Not science fiction, today’s operating picture.

This week, 19 hostile drones crossed NATO airspace in Poland, forcing a high-end response and temporarily grounding civilian flights. It’s a stark reminder that cheap UAV swarms and electronic warfare (EW) are reshaping deterrence and airspace safety across Europe.

Meanwhile, GPS interference in the Baltic corridor has disrupted an estimated 123,000 flights this year. Even EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was affected when suspected jamming disrupted her flight proof that PNT (positioning, navigation, timing) is now a contested domain.

In Ukraine, Starlink remains both vital and vulnerable. A July outage and ongoing EW attacks show why Europe must invest in multi-layer satcom, diversified ground segments, and rapid failover architectures.

Policy is catching up: the proposed EU Space Act embeds resilience and cybersecurity at the heart of European space operations setting new standards for commercial constellations serving defence and security users.

🎙️ Inside Episode 1: Tech Command Investing

In Episode 1, I speak with Chris Moore CBE (then VP Defence & Security & CISO at Eutelsat OneWeb, and former Air Vice-Marshal) about what satellite communications mean for governments, investors, and national security leaders.

Fresh takeaways for decision-makers:
From single network to portfolio of networks: Build redundancy by design across LEO/MEO/GEO + terrestrial mesh.
Harden the ground first: Prioritise secure gateways, key management, and segmented mission control.
reat PNT as a weapon system: Invest in anti-jam/anti-spoof, alt-PNT, and smart receiver fusion.
Direct-to-Device (D2D): From 2026, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBirds will beam broadband direct to smartphones with battlefield + consumer disruption ahead. Starlink remains the closest competitor.
Procurement shift: From decade-long programmes to software-led resilience, with SLAs tailored for contested environments.

Why This Matters to LPs & Sovereign Stakeholders
Three overlapping disruptions
1️⃣ The rise of new domains (space, cyber, information),
2️⃣ Cost compression from commercial tech, and
3️⃣ Digitisation of the battlespace —
…are creating outsized opportunities for dual-use founders.

This is a once-in-decades opportunity in DefenceTech.

At Karista, we’re raising Tech II, a new fund focused on Space • Defence • Security (including Cybersecurity) backing European dual-use champions built for this moment.

Closing

The space domain isn’t tomorrow’s fight it’s today’s frontline. Nations, investors, and innovators who move now will define the next era of deterrence, security, and connectivity.

🎧 Listen now:
[Amazon Music] | [Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts] | [YouTube] | [Audible]

What People Say About PSION

Alain went beyond imaginable limits with his ability and professional VC expertise to coordinate our fundraising activities at CyStellar. His capability to deeply understand our company’s vision and match it with the right investors was crucial in shortening the time to closing the investment.

Alain helped us with the investment strategy, corporate restructuring, pitch deck, building an investor funnel and following up with investors, supporting the due diligence process, term sheet negotiations and provide recommendation for legal, financial, and tax advisors.

He’s really made a difference in our start-up success to raise its first seed round!

I chose him to join our Board as independent Non-Executive Director where he continues to add value to the strategic direction of the company.

Peter Bunus

CEO and Co-Founder - CyStellar

It has been exceptional working with Alain over the past few months to develop Skyrora’s financial model and business plan. Alain quickly understood the key drivers of the business, and he was able to combine them with his deep knowledge of the investment industry to ensure our model is well received by investors. He paid detailed attention to intricacies, such as revenue recognition and worked hand-in-hand with us to resolve all difficulties. 

Alain went far beyond what was expected and put us on track to successfully close our funding round. I highly recommend him.


Victor Ivanenko

CFO – SKYRORA (Rocket company)

Alain carried out due diligence on a complex, fast moving business. He worked very long hours and his efforts exceeded the amount of time that was expected. 

He did a deeply researched analysis of the business involved and the sector that it was trading in, as a result of which we made an investment in the target company. In addition, he carried out due diligence on two other companies, a high technology business with several valuable patents based on the West Coast of the USA, and a company supplying communications solutions to the global railways sector. 

Alain and I are discussing several further opportunities of working together.


Simon Hunt

Fund manager

Alain possesses superior organisational, planning and interpersonal skills. As CEO of the business we began together, and as the primary partner in the enterprise, he demonstrated his ability to build and motivate a team, and guided the group towards creative goals and solutions. 

Alain involves others, encourages their strategies for finding solutions and secures maximum commitment from each team member. He also achieved good results when negotiating.

Personally, I find Alain to be a bright and engaging individual. He has a breath of international experience which I find particularly interesting and has a collegial manner which enables him to work effectively with others.

Michael Buxton

Co-investor & entrepreneur

Alain produced an Information Memorandum for Microbus for new investors, he was extremely diligent and picked up the complexity of what is a highly technical niche market very quickly. Market detail across Europe in the public safety market is limited but Alain managed to access detail that had previously been unattainable. 

He was also very knowledgeable in how to value this type of opportunity and tested these valuations from several directions. He was easy to work with but persistent in ensuring he produced the best possible results. I would recommend Alain to anyone requiring an in depth study of their business.

Reg Marsh

MD and COO in Growth & Turnaround businesses

It was a pleasure working with Mr. Gavin and observing his highly professional attitude and his remarkable energy and perseverance in the work he accomplished. He took initiative even on difficult issues to achieve needed results. His unique motivational drive and energy and collegial manner made him well accepted among those he worked with closely.

Dr. Roland Voigt

ex-CFO - SCHOTT AG

Alain is a wonderful person to work with. His support in Skyrora’s outreach to secure funding was invaluable. In countless calls, we worked out strategies together on how to approach investors. 

Alain always inspired me with his ideas and relentless energy to reach out to the right investors. He helped us to do a ground-up analysis of the competitive and market landscape and convince investors of the immense opportunity in the Space launch industry. 

I would warmly recommend him and am thrilled to have him on board and hope to work with him again to secure our next investment round.

Anfisa Anikushina

M&A, SpaceTech

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