Tandem Defense’s competitively awarded contract covers Group 1 counter-drone systems, support equipment and training, and runs through mid-2028, arriving as parent company Powerus works toward a public-market debut.
Autonomous Power Corporation, doing business as Powerus, announced Aug. 3 that its subsidiary Tandem Defense LLC has been awarded a competitively bid U.S. Air Force contract for Group 1 aerial-denial unmanned aircraft systems, with a maximum value of $90 million over the life of the award.
The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract also covers ancillary support equipment, operator training and field service representative support, with the Air Force able to place individual task orders against the ceiling as requirements arise. Work will be performed at locations determined by follow-on task orders, and the period of performance extends through mid-2028, subject to government funding availability and task-order issuance. Revenue to Powerus will depend on the volume of task orders actually placed and may fall well short of the $90 million ceiling.
What Tandem Defense Builds
Tandem Defense describes itself as a U.S.-based manufacturer of tactical FPV drone systems built on what the company calls the Powerus Matrix architecture, a modular framework it says spans air, sea and autonomous logistics platforms and supports more than 4,000 configurations from a single design. The company says its systems are NDAA compliant and Blue UAS cleared, and that more than 25,000 of its drones are in service across all U.S. military branches and more than a dozen allied nations.
Tandem Defense is one of three operating subsidiaries under Powerus, alongside Kaizen Aerospace, which builds heavy-lift unmanned aerial systems with payloads exceeding 500 pounds, and Agile Autonomy, which develops maritime surveillance systems. Powerus has said its founding team draws on members with direct operational experience in active conflict environments; co-founder Brett Velicovich has described the company as built by people who have spent years operating in combat environments where the technology has to perform.
A Pending Public Listing
The Air Force award comes as Powerus works toward a previously announced merger with Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc., a company that has owned and operated Florida golf course properties. Under the deal, first announced March 9, Powerus will become the surviving entity and AGH will adopt the Powerus Corporation name, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PUSA. The Form S-4 registration statement for the combination was declared effective by the SEC on Aug. 12, with closing anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
