‘Never Hurts to Have Their Name on Things’ – Drone Startup Linked to Trump’s Sons

According to a Reuters report, the US defense startup Powerus which was formed in Florida a year ago and is run by a former US Army Special Operations intelligence analyst said it plans to import drone technology from Ukraine and other foreign partners to help meet rising Pentagon demand. He said the business is about to go public later this month when it intends to merge with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway Holdings, a golf course operator backed by two of the sons of President Donald Trump – Donald Jr. and Eric – via their American Ventures investment fund.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Powerus president and CEO, Brett Velicovich, a former US Army Special Operations intelligence analyst, said he wants the firm to serve as a “one-stop solution” to supply the Pentagon with foreign technology that has an “American face.” Powerus is just one example of the growing portfolio of defense technology investments backed by the brothers that includes XTEND AI Robotics, an Israeli drone maker that went public in early September after merging with a construction firm in which American Ventures also held a stake. While Powerus said that the brothers are passive investors with no operational role in the drone firm, Keith Kellogg, a retired US Army lieutenant general, Trump’s former envoy to Ukraine and now an advisor to the Powerus board said, “It never hurts to have their name on something.” Other Topics of Interest Russia Strikes Kyiv Nuclear Institute Housing Reactor The VVR-M reactor has been shut down and defueled since 2022. Regulators reported no damage to its safety systems or radiation leaks. Following lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine there is a surge in demand from investors seeking to fill the global demand for unmanned vehicles, particularly from the Pentagon. They see domestic manufacture of technology obtained by acquisitions and partnership as the best way to shortcut the usual R&D process. Powerus may already have a head start as Velicovich was praised by the US President, saying “he really knows his stuff” in a July 2025 Truth Social post. The company is still very much a startup, despite showing promise and announcing recent deals including acquiring access to aerial and maritime drones earlier this year. In March, it unveiled its “Guardian” interceptor drone, which it said was a “joint US-Ukrainian development.” Another Powerus product, the MatrixFold attack drone was entered into the Pentagon’s $1 billion Drone Dominance program, intended to rapidly acquire large quantities of low-cost attack drones, but failed to reach the second round. Velicovich suggesed that the competition’s electronic warfare requirements were especially challenging. Powerus recently announced drone contracts with the US Air Force,and a Middle Eastern energy infrastructure as an undisclosed client. Last month it got an order from the Pakistani defense ministry for aerial drones and support, which Velicovich suggested would include a fusion of both US and Pakistani technology. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.