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 s

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.