The United States Air Force has finalized a weapons procurement agreement with Powerus, a drone startup financially backed by President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. This deal marks the first time Powerus has secured a contract to supply weapon systems to the U.S. military, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg reported that the Air Force will acquire an unspecified number of interceptor drones from the West Palm Beach-based company following a successful demonstration at an Arizona testing facility. Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich confirmed the agreement but declined to reveal the exact numbers or financial terms. Pentagon officials also remained tight-lipped about the scope, though such limited purchases are typical when evaluating new technology before committing to larger-scale programs.
The contract arrives as Washington accelerates efforts to deploy cost-effective counter-drone solutions. Iran and its allies have increasingly relied on inexpensive Shahed-style attack drones, making it economically unfeasible to use multimillion-dollar Patriot or THAAD interceptors against targets that cost just tens of thousands. This reality has driven the Pentagon to seek smaller, expendable systems that can be mass-produced and fielded rapidly.
Earlier this year, the U.S. rushed approximately 10,000 AI-equipped Merops interceptor drones to the Middle East, systems that were originally developed and battle-tested in Ukraine. These drones utilize onboard machine vision instead of GPS, enabling them to operate effectively in jamming-heavy environments. Reports indicate Merops units have achieved over 1,000 successful interceptions against Russian and Iranian drones in Ukraine, and they are now deployed in Poland, Romania, and various U.S. bases.
For Powerus, this Pentagon deal comes shortly after the company reportedly pitched weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including a drone specifically designed to counter Iranian Shahed-136s. With Trump-family investors funding a firm that sells weaponry into an active conflict shaped by U.S. policy, questions about ethics and oversight are likely to emerge, even as military planners prioritize closing the cost and capability gap against Iran’s expanding drone arsenal.