Trump Bros Back a Drone Company as the Pentagon Prepares to Spend Billions

The Trump brothers are getting into the drone business just as the Trump administration has helped set the stage for billions of dollars in new spending on U.S.-made drones. President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., have backed a new drone company hoping to land deals with the Pentagon, which conveniently their father oversees as commander-in-chief. Powerus, a drone company founded last year, announced Monday that it plans to merge with the Trump-backed publicly traded golf-course holding company Aureus Greenway Holdings. Powerus CEO Andrew Fox told The Wall Street Journal the deal, known as a reverse merger, would allow the company to go public quickly, giving it access to the funding it needs to scale manufacturing and acquire more companies. Powerus currently produces specialized drones, including “heavy-lift unmanned aerial systems capable of 500 lb.+ payloads, tactical defense platforms, and maritime surveillance systems,” according to a press release. The company has acquired three smaller drone makers over the past six months. Investors in the newly combined company include American Ventures, an investment firm backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.,