The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reports the
Trump administration is advancing financing agreements with a group of drone
companies as part of efforts to raise US domestic capacity and lower costs. The
potential deals, after months of talks, involve a range of private drone firms
and the PENTAGON, and discussions have included the Strategic Capital Office, a
loan vehicle set up under the Biden administration to fund companies deemed
critical to national-security supply chains. Some agreements could combine debt
financing and equity investments, which would result in the US government taking
partial ownership stakes in the companies, sources said. Companies the PENTAGON
has listed as potential funding candidates include Performance Drone Works,
which won a US Army contract to supply reconnaissance drones; drone parts
supplier Unusual Machines, whose shareholder and advisory-board member is Donald
Trump Jr.; and Neros Technologies, a Sequoia-backed startup developing small
first-person-view (FPV) drones. A 2025 estimate cited by the report says the US
can currently produce at most about 100,000 drones a year; by comparison,
Ukraine produced roughly 4 million last year. The drone industry has long
criticized the PENTAGON for insufficient procurement levels, saying shortfalls
have left it unable to finance future capacity expansion.
