Powerus has been selected to compete in Phase II of the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program, a $1 billion initiative aimed at procuring tens of thousands of low-cost, one-way attack drones. The company will advance with its MatrixFold multi-purpose attack drone platform.

The Department of Defense program seeks to field capable, low-cost drone systems at scale to strengthen the U.S. drone manufacturing base. Phase II includes a qualifier round estimated for June 2026, followed by production and delivery tests and a final evaluation called Gauntlet II. Winners will receive drone orders from the military.

The MatrixFold platform features lightweight folding airframes designed for rapid deployment across strike, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and heavy-payload missions. The system is Blue UAS-compatible and complies with National Defense Authorization Act requirements, according to the company.

"The math of war has changed. A thousand-dollar drone can take out a multi-million-dollar target, and whoever can put a combat-ready first-person view in a soldier's hands at scale wins that exchange," said Andrew Valkenburg, Executive Vice President of Technology and Manufacturing at Powerus.

Powerus operates as Autonomous Power Corporation and has announced a proposed merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PUSA). The merger, if completed, would result in Powerus becoming publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PUSA. The transaction received unanimous approval from both companies' boards of directors and a majority of stockholders.

The merger remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, with completion expected in summer 2026. Aureus Greenway Holdings recently changed its Nasdaq ticker symbol to PUSA in preparation for the transaction.