Months before Pak deal, Trump family-linked US drone firm inked pact with India

Months before signing a deal to supply drones to Pakistan, US-based company Powerus, which has close ties to the sons of President Donald Trump, had signed an agreement with an Indian firm to manufacture anti-drone systems. The development marks a rare instance of India and Pakistan having the same supplier for military hardware.

In June, Powerus signed an agreement with Mumbai-based Paras Defence and Space Technologies to manufacture and sell its 'Guardian-1' interceptor drones in India. As per regulatory filings by Paras, it entered into an exclusive intellectual property (IP) licensing agreement with Tandem Defence LLC - a wholly owned subsidiary of Powerus's parent company, Autonomous Power Corporation.

POWERUS'S ANTI-DRONE DEAL WITH INDIA

Simply put, the deal gives Paras exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the Guardian-1 anti-drone system in the domestic market. In return, Paras has to pay an upfront licence fee and share a portion of the net profits from sales in India with Powerus.

The Guardian-1 is a high-speed, battery-powered counter-drone system that can detect, track and neutralise aerial threats. It was designed to counter one-way attack drones, loitering munitions and drone swarms.

On its website, Powerus specifically mentions that its Guardian-1 interceptor is designed to counter Iranian Shahed and Geran drones. Both these low-cost drones have been used to great effect by Iran and Russia in their conflicts against the US and Ukraine, respectively.

Counter-drone systems have become a vital cog in modern warfare amid a growing threat from inexpensive unmanned platforms. India recognised its importance during last year's Operation Sindoor, when Pakistan sent swarms of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones across the LoC to target military installations. However, most of them were intercepted.

PAKISTAN ALSO BAGS DEAL

The four-day hostilities with India last year have also pushed Pakistan to enhance its drone capabilities. On September 16, Pakistan signed a strategic MoU with Powerus after a delegation from the US firm met army chief Asim Munir.

The Pakistani military said the discussions covered defence procurement, production and capacity building.

Powerus subsequently announced that it received an initial order related to unmanned aerial systems, according to Reuters. The company has not disclosed the value of the order or the specific systems involved.

It is too early to conclude if the arrangements with India and Pakistan are identical.

While the Indian agreement specifies the Guardian-1 system, while the Pakistan MoU does not disclose details of the system involved or the financial terms.

Powerus's interceptor family, according to its website, lists three products: Guardian-1 (manual), Guardian-2 (semi-autonomous), and Guardian-3 (based on fire-and-forget system).

POWERUS AND ITS TRUMP CONNECTION

The defence technology company, which produces aerial and maritime drones, was founded in 2025 by US Army veterans Andrew Fox and Brett Velicovich.

The timing of the Pakistan deal comes on the heels of Powerus preparing to merge with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway Holdings. Now, here is where matters get interesting. Aureus is backed by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump - sons of Donald Trump.

According to US regulatory filings, Trump Jr and Eric Trump own a stake in Aureus through an investment fund called American Ventures. Aureus and Powerus have said they expect the merger to be completed in early October.