While Gulf nations face Iranian drone and missile attacks and depend on U.S. military protection under their father, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have taken sizable equity stakes in a Florida drone startup selling defensive interceptors to those same countries. The deal, announced in early March 2026, involves Powerus, a West Palm Beach-based company founded in 2025 that specializes in heavy-lift and defensive drones. Powerus is actively conducting live drone demonstrations in multiple Gulf states, including meetings in Abu Dhabi with UAE officials, to showcase how its interceptors can neutralize Iranian threats. [1]
Powerus Guardian-1 interceptor drone (top) and heavy-lift systems built for high-risk defense environments.
Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich confirmed the company is pitching these systems directly to Gulf countries currently facing Iranian attacks, at a time when those nations depend heavily on U.S. forces led by President Trump.[2] [3]
From Golf Courses to Nasdaq Drone Play
To go public, Powerus is executing a reverse merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings (Nasdaq: AGH), a small operator of just two Orlando-area golf courses. The Trump brothers are listed as notable investors and backers in the combined entity, expected to trade under a new ticker once the deal closes (targeted for summer 2026). [4]
Aureus Greenway golf courses in the Orlando area, the shell company now transforming into a defense-tech platform. Powerus raised significant funding (including a $60 million round) to scale manufacturing and pursue both Pentagon contracts and international sales.
No Conflicts Here? Company Says So
Powerus has stated it sees no conflicts of interest. No denials from the Trump side have been reported in coverage from major outlets. Yet the timing is striking: U.S. strikes against Iran escalated regional threats, creating urgent demand for exactly that kind of defensive systems. Powerus is currently running live demonstrations of its drone interceptors for Gulf buyers who are under direct Iranian attack and rely on U.S. military protection from the Trump administration. [5]
Eye on the Bigger Picture
The Trump brothers’ growing footprint in the drone sector comes as drones dominate modern warfare priorities for the Pentagon and allies. Ethics questions are mounting about potential intersections between family business interests and U.S. foreign policy in an active conflict zone.
As exposed in my March 4, 2026 commentary, “Art of the Steal”, Trump’s inner circle, including son-in-law Jared Kushner and associates tied to World Liberty Financial, is positioned to reap enormous profits from the planned rebuilding of war-torn Gaza through luxury skyscrapers, smart cities, ports, and tokenized real estate deals. [6] The optics of these conflicts of interest could not be worse: President Trump’s own sons and son-in-law, along with his close associates, are positioned to profit handsomely from both the wars and the subsequent rebuilding of war-torn regions.
This is not limited to the Trump family and inner circle. Major defense contractors are also making out like bandits as the conflict drives demand for weapons systems, while everyday Americans bear the cost through higher energy prices and economic instability. Giant defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, RTX (Raytheon), and Northrop Grumman have seen their stock prices surge as the conflict drives massive new demand for weapons and systems.[7]
The pattern is crystal clear.
While the powerful and well-connected convert war, destruction, and chaos into massive personal windfalls, everyday Americans are left paying the brutal price through skyrocketing gas prices and grocery bills caused by the regional instability. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned in his 1961 farewell address about the military-industrial complex:
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
The facts are not in dispute. While Powerus pushes forward with demos and the Nasdaq path, the optics of presidential sons profiting from defensive tech sales in a hot war zone tied to U.S. policy remain front and center.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-01/drone-firm-backed-by-trump-sons-is-pitching-uae-on-weapons-deal
[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/company-backed-by-trump-sons-looks-to-sell-drone-interceptors-to-gulf-states-being-attacked-by-iran
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/02/eric-trump-drones-gulf-states-iran
[4] https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-brothers-backed-aureus-merge-with-drone-maker-powerus-2026-03-09/
[5] https://apnews.com/article/trump-sons-powerus-drone-interceptors-iran-missiles-1d8d858fdad5104a56e4438994093594
[6] https://www.theburningplatform.com/2026/03/04/art-of-the-steal-2/
[7] https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/defence-stocks-europe-all-time-high-after-trump-calls-higher-us-defence-budget-2026-01-08/