A US drone company, called Powerus, has signed a deal with the Pakistani army that includes an initial drone-related order, the co-founder of the firm, Brett Velicovich, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Now, the US defence company that specialises in designing, developing, and deploying unmanned aerial and maritime systems, is set to merge with the publicly traded Aureus Greenway Holdings, which is backed by two of US President Donald Trump’s sons.
While Velicovich did not provide the details of the memorandum of understanding, he said that the deal involved unmanned aerial systems. “The goal would be a joint technology relationship, pairing best-in-breed technology from the US with best-in-breed technology from Pakistan,” Velicovich said. Both companies anticipate completing the merger in early October, according to the Reuters report. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump own a stake in Aureus through an investment fund called American Ventures, according to US regulatory filings. The company’s founder and chief executive Andrew Fox has said that Pakistan’s private defence sector is “emerging” and not yet “mature”, which leaves the US with more space for its firms.
“I think, for many decades, the US government has been opposed to providing [drone] systems to countries like Pakistan while China has blanketly provided whatever the people here want”, Velicovich said.
