Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon
Startup merging with firm backed by Trump sons aims to supply US military with foreign technology.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon
Photograph: ZN.UA Зеркало недели (embedded from source)
What this story says
- US drone startup Powerus plans to import Ukrainian technology to supply the Pentagon.
- Powerus will merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings, giving Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump an indirect 9.9% stake.
- Brett Velicovich, Powerus president, stated the company aims to be a 'one-stop solution' for the Pentagon.
- Powerus reported $1.2 million in first-quarter sales and has a US Air Force contract worth up to $90 million.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
15/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Powerus, a US-based drone startup, intends to import Ukrainian and other foreign technologies to satisfy the growing demand from the Pentagon. The company is preparing to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings, a golf course operator. This merger will result in an indirect 9.9% stake for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump through their investment fund, American Ventures.
Brett Velicovich, president of Powerus and a former US Army Special Operations intelligence analyst, described the company's ambition to become a 'one-stop solution' for the Pentagon by providing foreign-developed military technology with an 'American face'. The company has reported $1.2 million in sales for the first quarter of the year after assembling aerial and maritime drones. Powerus also announced a contract with the US Air Force valued at up to $90 million.
Disagreement on early revenue
ZN.UA reported that Powerus had not generated revenue by early 2026. The Independent (US) stated that the company had no revenue-generating operations at the start of 2026. However, ZN.UA also reported that after assembling drones earlier in the year, Powerus announced $1.2 million in first-quarter sales. The Independent (US) also reported $1.2 million in first-quarter sales following drone assembly.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the $22.3 million commercial agreement Powerus announced to safeguard Middle Eastern energy infrastructure for an undisclosed client, as reported by The Independent (US).
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 1 Oct 2026, 05:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon
The Independent (US) — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on the connection between the drone startup Powerus and the sons of former President Donald Trump. The Independent (US) highlighted that Trump's older sons were tied to the drone firm importing Ukraine war tech for the Pentagon. It noted that the Trump brothers hold an indirect interest via American Ventures, which is expected to retain a 9.9% stake in the combined business. The Independent (US) also mentioned Powerus's MatrixFold quadcopter attack drone failed to reach the leaderboard in the Pentagon's Drone Dominance program. Unn.ua's digest stated the startup developer linked to Trump's sons aims to bring Ukrainian technology to the US and is negotiating with Ukrainian drone manufacturers.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on Powerus's plan to import Ukrainian technology and its merger with a company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. ZN.UA reported that the drone startup associated with Trump's sons is trying to bring Ukrainian technology to the United States. It detailed the planned merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings and the indirect stake held by the Trump brothers. WTVB's digest also stated that the drone startup tied to Trump sons aims to bring Ukrainian tech to the US. Both ZN.UA and The Independent (US) reported on Powerus's $1.2 million in first-quarter sales and its US Air Force contract.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon biased?
- Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Powerus to import Ukrainian drone tech for Pentagon?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Powerus?
- Powerus is a US-based drone startup that plans to import Ukrainian and other foreign technologies to meet demand from the Pentagon. The company is set to merge with Aureus Greenway Holdings, which is backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, giving them an indirect stake.
- What is Powerus's relationship with the Trump sons?
- Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have an indirect 9.9% stake in Powerus through their investment fund, American Ventures, which is investing in Aureus Greenway Holdings, the company Powerus is merging with. They are described as passive investors with no operational role in the drone firm.
- What contracts does Powerus have?
- Powerus has announced a contract with the US Air Force valued at up to $90 million. The Independent (US) also reported a $22.3 million commercial agreement to safeguard Middle Eastern energy infrastructure for an undisclosed client.
- What sales has Powerus reported?
- Powerus reported $1.2 million in first-quarter sales after assembling aerial and maritime drones earlier in the year. The company was incorporated in October of the previous year and had no revenue-generating operations at the start of 2026.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Trump’s older sons tied to drone firm importing Ukraine war tech for Pentagon (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump’s older sons tied to drone firm importing Ukraine war tech for Pentagon (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Startup Drone Developer Linked to Trump's Sons Aims to Bring Ukrainian Technology to US (opens unn.ua in a new tab)
Centre
3- The Drone Startup Associated with Trump's Sons Is Trying to Bring Ukrainian Technology to the United States. (opens ZN.UA Зеркало недели in a new tab)
ZN.UA Зеркало недели — is ZN.UA Зеркало недели biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Drone startup tied to Trump sons aims to bring Ukrainian tech to US (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Drone startup tied to Trump sons aims to bring Ukrainian ... (opens Reuters in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
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