Dive brief:
- Eric Trump is one of a handful of investors backing drone maker Xtend and construction and real estate developer JFB Construction Holdings. $1.5 billion merger dealaccording to a press release this Tuesday.
- Investors include drone maker Unusual Machines. Eric’s brother, Donald Trump Jr., is an interested party and serving there Advisory Board of Unusual Machines.
- The agreement includes an investment commitment of 152 million dollars, of which 42 million was agreed to be financed at the signing. according to a securities presentation. The pending merger is expected to close in mid-2026.
Diving knowledge:
Other investors backing the merger include real estate and investment firm American Ventures, Israel-based defense private equity firm Protego Ventures, investment management firm Aliya Capital and investment firm Agostinelli Group.
After the transaction closes, the joint venture will be renamed Xtend AI Robotics and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker XTND, according to the press release.
The merger plan will also expand its global drone footprint to India, Mexico, Germany, etc The United Arab Emirates and Japan, according to the securities filing.
Xtend was established in 2018 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company produces autonomous drones using artificial intelligence software for the defense and security industries.
The Israeli military uses Xtend’s drones for various purposes in Gaza, including scouting inside buildings or using robotic arms to carry an adhesive explosive to open doors and throw grenades, CEO and co-founder. Aviv Shapira told the Wall Street Journal in December 2023.
The manufacturer established a headquarters and manufacturing facility in the United States in Tampa, Florida in July 2025 to support the US defense sector and growing demand.
The company had a partnership with the Ministry of Defense of Israel, according to a page now deleted on the company’s website. Through the partnership, Xtend provided its Skylord drone model as part of an initiative to help US Army Special Forces Operations in 2020.
The The Department of Defense also awarded Xtend an undisclosed multibillion-dollar firm-fixed-price contract in November 2025. This type of contract places maximum risk and responsibility for all costs on the company and minimizes the administrative burden on the US government, according to the Defense Acquisition University.
Xtend will supply small DOD tactical equipment operators with “lethal” unarmed aerial drones to aid in precision strikes and survivability amid “irregular” warfare operations in complex terrain and rural confined spaces, according to the company’s press release. Xtend will also provide training, parts, maintenance and production from its Tampa facility.
The DOD contract aligns with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s drone directive issued in July 2025, which aims to provide the agency with “low-cost lethality per kill,” the drone maker said in the statement.
Additionally, Hegseth’s directive supports President Donald Trump’s executive order accelerate the domestic production of dronesstrengthen the supply chain and reduce America’s dependence on foreign countries.
Also, Xtend is one of 25 vendors that DOD selected to participate in the agency’s drone mastery program, an acquisition reform effort aimed at accelerating the scale-up of low-cost attack drones. The program also supports the “Arsenal of Freedom,” a plan to rebuild the defense industrial base under DOD’s new acquisition transformation strategy.
“What attracted us to XTEND is the strength and scalability of its AI-based operating system,” JFB CEO Joseph Basile III said in a statement. “By combining Xtend’s operating system and advanced AI capabilities with JFB’s execution, infrastructure and construction expertise, we see a clear opportunity to accelerate US manufacturing, responsibly scale production and support a next-generation defense technology platform that is American-built and ready for public markets.”
In addition to the participation of the Trump brothers, JFB appointed Stefan Passantino to serve as a board member, according to a February 13 securities filing. Passantino served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel during Trump’s first term in the White House.
