Trump family set to profit from Iran war through major drone deal
The Trump family is officially set to cash in on the president’s war on Iran by selling drones to the Air Force.
Donald Trump’s elder sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, joined the board of drone-maker Powerus after a golf club company they backed merged with it in March to take it public. Powerus, based in West Palm Beach, the home of Trump International Golf Club, now stands to gain from its links to the first family.
The company, only founded last year, announced that it had struck a deal to sell an undisclosed number of interceptor drones to the Pentagon. But Brett Velicovich, the company’s co-founder and president, insists this decision is based on merit, not nepotism.
“They’re not going to pick a system because of who’s on an investor list,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “They’re picking because they need it now.”
The deal was sealed after a successful demonstration at a facility in Arizona, he added. The deal marks the start-up’s first weapons procurement contract with the U.S. military.
The Guardian-2 is a low-cost, semi-autonomous, high-speed counter-drone interceptor purpose-built for action in the Middle East to defend against Iranian Shahed-type attack drones. Although it fits the brief, the deal is likely to invite scrutiny because of its links to the Trump family. [Continue reading…]