Dive Brief:
- President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, is investing in a $638 million merger between defense geospatial technology firm, Space-Eyes, and special purpose acquisition company, McKinley Acquisition Corp., according to a July 31 press release.
- McKinley secured up to $75 million through private investment in public equity, which includes the $5 million that will be spent once the registration statement is filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Eric Trump is also serving as an advisor. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and the combined companies will operate as Space-Eyes.
Dive Insight:
Space Eyes said its artificial intelligence-powered, counter-unmanned aerial systems platform can be connected to nearly all devices to detect, track, identify and alleviate hostile drones in various environments.
The C-UAS platform is built on collaborative AI at the tactical edge, or CATE, integrating radio frequency, electro-optical/infrared and satellite inputs in real-time. Space-Eyes’ platform can connect to various devices and deliver data across land, air and sea for governments and businesses.
The deal comes as the Iran war continues and the U.S. forces experience a weapons shortage. The geospatial intelligence and C-UAS market is expected to continue growth driven by AI-powered defense systems. Space-Eyes is eyeing a business expansion with plans to use third-party manufacturers in a bid to secure government contracts worldwide, Reuters reported.
“Space-Eyes is now scaling from prototype deployments into large-scale, sole-source production contracts, increasing procurement velocity, contract size, and program durability,” the company said in the press release.
The pending merger is the latest addition to Eric Trump’s growing portfolio over the past year. In August 2025, Eric and brother, Donald Trump Jr., invested in a new SPAC, the New America Acquisition I Corp.
In February, Eric Trump invested in drone manufacturer Xtend and real estate development and construction company JFB Construction Holdings’ $1.5 billion merger agreement.
The following month, the Trump brothers invested in another drone-related merger between Powerus and golf course company Aureus Greenway Holdings. Powerus co-founder, Brett Velicovich, said in a recent interview with Manufacturing Dive that the agreement is a “typical mechanism for doing a reverse merger as a public vehicle that already exists and is already strongly supported by investors, and so it works for us.”
Furthermore, Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in drone maker Unusual Machines, and serves on the company’s advisory board. Unusual Machines also contributed to the Trump brothers’ recent merger deals.
He also has a stake in another defense-adjacent company, rare earth magnet manufacturer Vulcan Elements, through his venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, ProPublica reported. The Department of Defense awarded Vulcan a $620 million loan in 2025 and Donald Trump Jr. denied any involvement in the deal. However, Pete Navarro, a White House adviser to the president and a friend of Donald Trump Jr.’s, worked on Vulcan’s deal.
Democrat lawmakers are demanding answers from the White House regarding the allegedly corrupt deal.
