Pentagon in talks for equity stakes in U.S. drone companies

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The Pentagon is in talks to take ownership stakes in a group of U.S. drone companies, including one whose advisory board includes Donald Trump Jr., according to The Wall Street Journal.

Structuring options under discussion include debt and equity arrangements that would result in direct U.S. government ownership in participating companies. Among the government bodies involved is the Office of Strategic Capital, an office established under the Biden administration whose mandate covers financing for companies tied to national security supply chains.

The three companies named in the talks are Unusual Machines, Performance Drone Works, and Neros Technologies. Unusual Machines is a drone components provider. Performance Drone Works has previously secured U.S. Army contracts for reconnaissance drone supply. Neros, which counts Sequoia Capital among its backers, builds first-person-view drone systems.

At Unusual Machines, Donald Trump Jr. holds shares and sits on the advisory board, a dual role that observers say would make any Pentagon funding agreement a magnet for conflict-of-interest questions and oversight from Congress, according to CNBC.