New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) Powerus, an American defence company with close ties to the family of US President Donald Trump, shot into the limelight last week when it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Pakistani Army and offered Islamabad access to Ukrainian drone technology which has serious implications for regional security.
Within six months of being set up, in October last year, Powerus acquired three small firms and started manufacturing unmanned aerial and maritime systems. At the same time, Powerus signed a contract with G1 Exploration to commercialise autonomous defence systems developed in Ukraine.
G1 Exploration owns the intellectual properties of seven fully developed drone models from Ukrainian manufacturers, as well as a number of systems at various stages of development. The collaboration between the two companies has also led to the launch of the Guardian line of drone interceptors, according to an article in India Narrative.
The company has recently secured a number of contracts beating defence giants such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Boeing, which have a large share of the unmanned systems market. Powerus secured a contract with the U.S. Air Force to supply 3,000 interceptor drones, valued at $90 million, as well as a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to supply 1,500 FPV drones, control kits, and spare parts, valued at $2.5 million. Besides, it has bagged a key $22.3 million deal to develop a system to protect critical oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East on behalf of the United States.
At the same time, Powerus began re-exporting Ukrainian drone technology to the Indian subcontinent. It first struck a deal with Paras Defense and Space Technologies in Mumbai, which provided for the production and sale of Guardian-1 technology in India.
However, on September 16, the company signed the MoU with the Pakistan Army, represented by Field Marshal Asim Munir. The drone deal sparked controversy over conflicts of interest and raised serious concerns regarding regional security, especially given Islamabad’s active efforts to build up its drone capabilities by exporting Ukrainian tactics and technologies after its defeat in Operation Sindoor, the article points out.
Although exact details have not been disclosed, Powerus’s co-founder Brett Velicovich stated that the MoU calls for an initial order of unmanned aerial vehicles. He added that the company’s ultimate goal is to establish a joint technology partnership and set up manufacturing operations in Pakistan. Powerus CEO Andrew Fox said that Pakistan’s private defence sector is still in the early stages of development, but is of interest to American companies.
These statements raise particular concerns about the resumption of US-Pakistan defence cooperation. Although Washington has ceased supplying Islamabad with weapons, only providing modernisation packages for previously delivered F-16 fighter jets, the Powerus deal is a cause for concern, the article added.
–IANS
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