Pakistan has signed a drone-related agreement with Powerus, a US-based defence company that has financial links to Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump. The deal includes an initial order for unmanned aerial systems, although the value and specific technology involved have not been disclosed.
The development has attracted attention because Powerus had signed an agreement with an Indian defence company just months earlier. In June, India's Paras Defence and Space Technologies received an exclusive licence to manufacture and sell Powerus's Guardian-1 counter-drone system in India.
This means that India and Pakistan, long-standing rivals, are now dealing with the same US defence company, although the systems involved in their respective agreements are not necessarily the same. Pakistan's order concerns unmanned aerial systems, while the Indian agreement specifically covers the Guardian-1 interceptor.
Powerus is due to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings, a publicly traded US company backed by investments from Trump's two sons. The Trump brothers are reported to be passive investors, and Powerus says they have no role in the company's operations or defence contracts. The White House has also said there is no conflict of interest.
The deal is particularly notable because Pakistan already has substantial drone capabilities and defence partnerships with China and Türkiye. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera say Pakistan may be interested not simply in buying drones, but in gaining access to technology, electronics, systems integration and potentially local production.
There is also an additional sensitivity: Powerus co-founder Ziv Marom is a former Israeli military serviceman, while Pakistan does not recognise Israel. However, the available reporting does not establish that this background affected the Pakistani procurement decision.