Dive Brief:
- Eric Trump is one of a handful of investors backing drone manufacturer Xtend and real estate development and construction company JFB Construction Holdings’ $1.5 billion merger agreement, according to a press release on Tuesday.
- Investors include drone maker Unusual Machines. Eric’s brother, Donald Trump Jr., is a stakeholder and serves on Unusual Machines’ advisory board.
- The deal includes a $152 million investment commitment, $42 million of which was agreed to fund at signing, according to a securities filing. The pending merger is anticipated to close in mid-2026.
Dive Insight:
Other investors backing the merger include real estate and investment firm American Ventures, Israel-based defense private equity company Protego Ventures, investment management firm Aliya Capital, and investment firm Agostinelli Group.
Once the transaction closes, the joint company will be renamed Xtend AI Robotics and listed on Nasdaq under the ticker XTND, per the press release.
The merger plan will also expand its global drone footprint in India, Mexico, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan, according to the securities filing.
Xtend was established in 2018 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company produces autonomous drones using artificial intelligence software for the defense and security industries.
Israel’s military uses Xtend’s drones for various purposes in Gaza, such as exploring inside buildings or using robotic arms to carry an adhesive explosive to blow open doors and drop grenades, CEO and co-founder Aviv Shapira told the Wall Street Journal in December 2023.
The manufacturer established a U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in Tampa, Florida, in July 2025 to support the U.S. defense sector and growing demand.
The company had a partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, according to a now-deleted page on the company’s website. Through the partnership, Xtend provided its Skylord drone model as part of an initiative to assist the U.S. Army Special Forces Operations in 2020.
The Department of Defense also awarded Xtend an undisclosed multimillion-dollar, firm-fixed-price contract in November 2025. This type of contract places the maximum risk and responsibility for all costs on the company and minimizes the administrative burden on the U.S. government, according to the Defense Acquisition University.
Xtend will supply DOD’s small tactical team operators with “lethal” unarmed aerial drones to assist in precision strikes and survivability amid “irregular” warfare operations in complex terrain and rural confined spaces, per the company’s press release. Xtend will also provide training, spares, maintenance and production from its Tampa facility.
The DOD contract aligns with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s drone directive issued in July 2025, aiming to provide the agency “lethality at low cost-per-kill,” the drone maker said in the release.
Additionally, Hegseth’s directive supports President Donald Trump’s executive order to expedite domestic drone production, strengthen the supply chain and reduce the United States’ reliance on foreign countries.
Furthermore, Xtend is one of 25 vendors that DOD selected to participate in the agency’s Drone Dominance Program, an acquisition reform effort aimed at accelerating the scaling of attack drones at low cost. The program also supports the “Arsenal of Freedom,” a blueprint to rebuild the defense industrial base under DOD’s New Acquisition Transformation strategy.
“What drew us to XTEND is the strength and scalability of its AI-driven operating system,” JFB CEO Joseph Basile III said in a statement. “By pairing Xtend’s operating system and advanced AI capabilities with JFB’s execution, infrastructure, and buildout expertise, we see a clear opportunity to accelerate US manufacturing, scale production responsibly, and support a next-generation defense technology platform built in America and ready for the public markets.”
In addition to the Trump brothers’ involvement, JFB appointed Stefan Passantino to serve as a board member, according to a Feb. 13 securities filing. Passantino served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel during Trump’s first term in the White House.
