Florida-based Unusual Machines, Inc., a drone and drone components manufacturer, announced on November 27th that Donald Trump Jr., an investor in the Company, has joined the Company’s advisory board.
“Don Jr. joining our board of advisors provides us unique expertise we need as we bring drone component manufacturing back to America,” said Allan Evans, Unusual Machines CEO. “He brings a wealth of experience and I look forward to his advice and role within the Company as we continue to build our business.”
“The need for drones is obvious. It is also obvious that we must stop buying Chinese drones and Chinese drone parts,” said Don Jr. “I love what Unusual Machines is doing to bring drone manufacturing jobs back to the USA and am excited to take on a bigger role in the movement”.
Don Jr.’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Unusual Machines, following the recent release of our Brave F7 FPV Flight Controller. This achievement underscores the Company’s commitment to onshoring U.S. drone component manufacturing. By reducing reliance on foreign-made products and strengthening domestic supply chains, Unusual Machines is helping to safeguard U.S. technological leadership in the drone industry. Don Jr.’s expertise will be invaluable in accelerating this mission as the Company continues to expand its product line.
The president-elect’s eldest son’s appointment comes two days after his father threatened to slap China with “an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs” unless the country is able to stop the trafficking of chemicals used to make fentanyl through the US. Trump had previously threatened tariffs of 60% on import goods from China during his campaign.
The company has denied claims that Don Jr. might help Unusual Machines secure government approvals.
“I would never ask him to do anything or facilitate anything like that,”
Evans told The Wall Street Journal.
He said the president-elect’s son’s business network would help Unusual Machines meet demand for drone parts made outside of China.
Trump Jr. had previously owned 331,580 shares of Unusual Machines before a share offering and currently owns no shares, the company disclosed in the filing on Wednesday. It is unclear how much he paid for the shares or what price he sold them at.
Don Jr. joined venture capital firm 1789 Capital as a partner earlier this month and said he would recuse himself from business involving the government and has no interest in joining his father’s administration.
Department of Defense officials earlier this year approved an Unusual Machines flight controller for use in the military – the company’s first such rubber stamp, according to the Journal.
Earlier this month, the company reported $1.5 million in sales in the third quarter, mostly from selling drones directly to consumers. Unusual Machines reported $3.6 million in revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30 and a net loss of $4.9 million in the same period. In February, Unusual Machines went public and acquired the drone brands Fat Shark and Rotor Riot.
Unusual Machines is looking to move into sales of Pentagon-compliant drones and drone parts to businesses, the report said.
Evans told the Journal he thinks the incoming president’s more protectionist policies will help the drone industry flourish in the US.
Trump Jr.’s involvement with Unusual Machines was announced just a few days after Trump ally Elon Musk, who founded Tesla and SpaceX, slammed the Pentagon’s F-35 fighter jet program and argued in favor of the use of autonomous drones in warfare.
About Unusual Machines
Unusual Machines manufactures and sells drone components and drones across a diversified brand portfolio, which includes Fat Shark, the leader in FPV (first-person view) ultra-low latency video goggles for drone pilots. The Company also retails small, acrobatic FPV drones and equipment directly to consumers through the curated Rotor Riot e-commerce store. With a changing regulatory environment, Unusual Machines seeks to be a dominant Tier-1 parts supplier to the fast-growing multi-billion-dollar U.S. drone industry.
According to Fact.MR, the global drone accessories market is currently valued at $17.5 billion and is set to top $115 billion by 2032.
Sources: Unusual Machines; yahoo!tech; New York Post
For Information:
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Allan Evans, who previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Red Cat and CEO of Fat Shark owns 1.5% of the stock.
Chief Operating Officer Drew Camden was President of Rotor Riot from 2018, until Rotor Riot’s acquisition by Red Cat Holdings in 2020 and holds 1.6%
Jeff Thompson CEO of Red Cat ,owns 5.9%
There should be no implication of nepotism in this appointment but the Stock market is a cynical beast…