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By Jen Judson
A dronemaker backed by President Donald Trump’s sons struck a $22.3 million deal to sell counter-drone detection equipment to an energy company in the Persian Gulf, capitalizing on private firms’ push to protect themselves amid fallout from the Iran war.
West Palm Beach-based Powerus signed a deal with an undisclosed company to provide equipment that can detect and track incoming drones. The system will eventually be able to work with its Guardian interceptors but doesn’t include those defensive systems.
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“The modern battlefield made it so companies now have to protect themselves and that’s just the reality where it’s all going, even if it’s just simple detection,” Powerus President Brett Velicovich said in an interview.
Powerus declined to identify the company or the country, citing security concerns, and also did not disclose the specific locations that will be protected.
The contract is the outgrowth of private companies’ growing push to protect themselves from attack in a volatile region rather than rely on the government to do so. Iran has shown a willingness to fire cheap drones at facilities worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Conventional air-defense systems are far more expensive and in short supply, and aren’t commercially available in any case.
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“You’re not going to give a Patriot missile battery to an Amazon warehouse,” Velicovich said. “This is the new insurance policy.”
The company will provide a system built around lower-cost interceptors, sensors, and automation, along with personnel to operate it, while also training local security forces.
Powerus, which has received several US defense contracts, is planning to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc., a golf-course operator backed by Trump’s sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. that already has a Nasdaq listing, according to an announcement earlier this year. The merger has yet to close.
The investments have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest as the Trump administration has made domestic drone production and counter-drone capabilities a priority.
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