Trump-linked drone firm’s Pakistan deal raises questions over US arms thaw

TOI correspondent from Washington: An obscure American defence start-up has suddenly acquired an outsized geopolitical significance after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Pakistan army and securing an initial order for unmanned aerial systems, raising questions in Indian strategic circles over whether the deal could be an indicator of a wider reopening of US military supplies to Pakistan.Powerus, a Florida-based company barely a year old, signed the agreement during a September visit to Pakistan led by its president and co-founder Brett Velicovich, a former US army special operations intelligence analyst. The company says the initial order is limited, but Velicovich has said its longer-term ambition is to combine American and Pakistani technology and potentially establish manufacturing in Pakistan.“Powerus has received a limited procurement order from the ministry of defence of Pakistan for unmanned aerial systems and associated support. The order represents an expansion of our international defense business.