New drone maker partly owned by Trump sons hopes to win Pentagon contracts

Reporting cited here

1. reported

   Associated Press reported that Powerus was competing for Pentagon contracts and hoped to receive part of a $1.1 billion armed-drone manufacturing program; on March 24, Senators Warren and Blumenthal publicly sought confirmation of whether Powerus had received any Defense award.

   Pentagon competition and $1.1 billion program sought by Powerus

   Trump's sons backed Powerus while the drone company sought Pentagon business · Powerus was seeking Pentagon drone work as of March 24; the senators asked whether any award existed

2. reported

   Government-ethics scholar Kathleen Clark characterized the family-ownership and federal-bid arrangement as corruption and warned that government decision makers would feel pressure to use contract awards to enrich the president's family.

   Kathleen Clark's attributed conflict and pressure assessment

   Trump's sons backed Powerus while the drone company sought Pentagon business · Powerus was seeking Pentagon drone work as of March 24; the senators asked whether any award existed

3. reported

   Associated Press reported that Powerus raised $60 million from investors and planned to enter public markets through a reverse merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed golf-course company partly owned by Donald Trump's two oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

   $60 million financing, reverse merger, and reported Trump-son ownership

   Trump's sons backed Powerus while the drone company sought Pentagon business · Powerus was seeking Pentagon drone work as of March 24; the senators asked whether any award existed

4. reported

   Before the tariff announcement, Unusual Machines identified Donald Trump Jr. as an investor and advisory-board appointee in November 2024. AP reported in March 2026 that Powerus planned a merger with a company partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

   March 11, 2026 report, planned reverse merger and ownership

   CBP details drone tariff rates, partner conditions and onshoring exemptions · Product-specific duties with conditional partner and onshoring treatment