Aiming at the Pentagon's needs, the Trump family bets on the drone industry.

Trump family is extending its reach into the rapidly expanding defense drone market. President Trump’s two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are jointly backing a new drone company called Powerus. The company plans to go public on Nasdaq via a reverse merger, aiming to meet Pentagon procurement needs. Powerus is completing a reverse merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings, a golf course holding company endorsed by the Trump family, and is expected to land on Nasdaq within several months. Investors involved in the deal include American Ventures, an investment vehicle owned by the Trump family; Unusual Machines, a drone component company with equity and advisory ties to Donald Trump Jr.; and Dominari Securities, an investment bank backed by the Trump family. This deal marks the Trump family’s deep involvement in the multi-billion-dollar defense drone sector. Recently, the Pentagon launched its “Drone Dominance” plan, set to spend $1.1 billion by 2027 to purchase hundreds of thousands of domestically-produced drone systems. Reverse merger for public listing, fundraising and capacity expansion are core objectives Powerus was established last year, headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, and positions itself as an integrated platform company in the drone industry. Over the past six months, the company has completed acquisitions of three small businesses, with operations covering aerial and maritime drones. According to the Wall Street Journal, Powerus CEO Andrew Fox stated that taking the company public via this reverse merger aims to secure funding necessary for large-scale production and ongoing acquisitions. He revealed the company is advancing towards the goal of producing over 10,000 drones per month—this capacity would exceed nearly all other U.S. drone manufacturers, and far surpass historic procurement volumes by the U.S. Department of Defense. Fox, a serial entrepreneur with nearly thirty years in New York’s building services industry, claims no prior experience in the drone sector. He stated that Powerus offers drones used for wildfire suppression and models with maximum payloads up to 1,000 pounds. He remarked, the drone market “will certainly grow faster than golf courses.” Acquisition of Ukrainian technology, but overseas sourcing is complex Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich, a U.S. Army Special Operations veteran who has advised drone companies in both the U.S. and Ukraine and is active in cable news commentary, told the Wall Street Journal that Powerus is negotiating the acquisition or licensing of Ukrainian drone technology, with plans to manufacture and brand the products in the U.S., but declined to share further details. Ukrainian drone manufacturers face multiple obstacles in the export process, while the U.S. military, though pursuing Ukrainian technology, insists on “Made in USA” equipment, making direct overseas procurement complicated. Highly fragmented market, policy windfall remains to be seen The U.S. drone market is currently highly fragmented, with numerous small businesses competing for limited defense orders and generally lacking substantial revenue. Chinese brands have dominated the consumer and commercial drone sectors for over a decade. The Trump administration’s ban on new Chinese drone models opened a policy window for domestic manufacturers. The Pentagon’s “Drone Dominance” plan was launched under these circumstances to promote domestic manufacturing expansion. However, Powerus’s target of producing 10,000 drones per month remains a significant gap from historical Department of Defense purchasing volumes. Whether the company can turn policy advantages into real orders is yet to be proven by the market. Risk warning and disclaimer The market carries risk, and investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account individual users’ specific investment goals, financial situations, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suited to their circumstances. Investments are made at your own risk.