When defense drone manufacturer Powerus completed its Nasdaq listing merger ($PUSA) on October 1, it signaled a major milestone for domestic drone production. Operating out of its headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Powerus is attempting to tackle one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in American aviation: scaling NDAA-compliant, American-made drones in the tens of thousands without relying on foreign supply chains.
Between a $5 million component order with domestic parts manufacturer Unusual Machines (which is based in Florida) in April, a $30 million strategic investment from Unusual Machines in June, and a fresh $82 million U.S. government counter-drone order under its belt, Powerus is moving fast.
I caught up with Brett Velicovich, co-founder of Powerus and a former U.S. Army intelligence operator, to discuss component standardization, battery supply chains and why traditional defense acquisition mindsets fail frontline drone pilots.
The Drone Girl: You’ve partnered with Unusual Machines on U.S.-made, NDAA-compliant components. Given how much of the global drone supply chain runs through China, what are the biggest bottlenecks in producing domestic drones by the tens of thousands?
Brett Velicovich: Whoever owns the supply chain is going to own this sector. Motors and flight controllers come from a short list of manufacturers, and a lot of drone companies are buying from the same ones. Trace those parts back far enough and a lot of them still go back to China, right down to the mines.
TDG: Everything comes from China! All these tiny components come from China, so my impression is it’s hard to make a fully American-made drone.
BV: That’s why we started with components. Unusual Machines makes NDAA-compliant drone components here in the U.S. In April, we placed an order of more than $5 million with them for core components that go into both our counter-UAS interceptors and our 10-inch class drones—a purchase, not revenue for us. In June, they made a $30 million strategic equity investment in Powerus, deepening a relationship that already existed.
TDG: What components are you looking to get “made in America” next?
BV: Batteries are the next pain point. Congress has already moved to cut the Pentagon off from batteries tied to foreign entities of concern. Every year that gets tighter, as it should…it forces the industry to build the domestic base now.
People are a constraint too. Experienced engineers and advanced manufacturing technicians are scarce across the whole defense industrial base. We train internally so new hires get productive quickly.
TDG: Just to clarify, your drones are built and tested in South Carolina, no?
BV: Our headquarters moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina after our merger closed on October 1. The drones are built there and flight-tested before delivery.
We don’t rely on a single site, though. A network of partner businesses, manufacturers,and developers supports production to shared specifications so a disruption in one region doesn’t halt national output. Systems for U.S. customers are built with NDAA-compliant components.
TDG: Many U.S. drone makers struggle with sourcing parts at a competitive price point. How are you tackling component standardization so you can ramp up volume without production delays?
BV: Every Powerus airframe runs the same guidance, the same ground station and the same operator pipeline—from a 3-inch quad that fits in a cargo pocket to a heavy-lifter in the 1,000-pound payload class.
TDG: What are the differences for you then in building those little quads versus something bigger?
BV: The bill of materials follows the same logic. The core components we buy from Unusual Machines go into both our counter-UAS interceptors and our 10-inch class drones. A common core means larger buys of fewer part numbers, which is how you bring unit cost down and make lead times predictable.
TDG: Ah I see. Well, I like lower costs.
BV: Batteries, nose cones, and sensors swap out in the field with no tools. Control and payload interfaces are shared across the family, meaning fewer unique parts to stock, qualify, and test.
TDG: You recently landed an $82 million U.S. government contract. From a manufacturing standpoint, how do you prep your supply chain for such a massive purchase order?
BV: Our $82 million order for counter-unmanned aerial systems came under an existing U.S. government IDIQ contract, and it was the second order under that contract.
TDG: Can you explain what that is and why it’s useful?
BV: IDIQ gives visibility into what the customer may need before an order lands, allowing long-lead parts to be qualified and sourced ahead of time. Components get locked in early. That’s the point of our Unusual Machines relationship — ordering domestic, NDAA-compliant parts from a supplier that’s also an investor. Volume goes across our facilities and partner network, building to shared specifications instead of piling onto one line.
TDG: Having relied on drones as a U.S. Army intelligence operator in the field, what is the biggest disconnect you see between traditional defense acquisition mindsets and what frontline operators actually need on the battlefield today?
Brett Velicovich: We’ve traditionally thought about acquiring a drone as buying a piece of equipment instead of expendable ammunition.
TDG: Interesting perspective. I guess I never want to think about a drone as expendable, but you’re right. It is for this use case.
BV: The operator thinks about it as a capability that has to work immediately, in the real world, under pressure. Back when I served, drones were scarce and precious. The technology changed., but the mindset didn’t.
TDG: Okay, maybe I’m just behind then in thinking of drones as scare and precious.
BV: A member of our team saw that firsthand in 2022. The team was issued a drone, but only one person received roughly three days of training. The rest weren’t trained to operate it, and they were essentially told not to break it — on an item that was meant to be broken in the first place. So the drone sat in the box. You had the technology, but you didn’t actually have a usable capability.
TDG: That’s the disconnect!
BV: The frontline operator doesn’t need a beautiful acquisition program or a piece of technology that looks impressive on a briefing slide. They need something they can take out of the box, understand quickly, operate safely and legally, and immediately integrate into the mission.
The post Powerus cofounder shares ambitions to scale U.S.-made drones in the tens of thousands appeared first on The Drone Girl.