US President Donald Trump’s son Eric is investing heavily in a merger between Israeli drone manufacturer Xtend and Florida-based construction firm JFB Construction Holdings.
Xtend, which made weapons tested on Palestinian civilians during the genocide in Gaza, prides itself on its “low-cost-per-kill” drones.
The $1.5-billion merger aims to take the Israeli drone maker public. Xtend will then be listed on the NASDAQ.
“I am incredibly proud to invest in companies I believe in. Drones are clearly the wave of the future. Xtend has unbelievable potential,” the US president’s son said in a statement.
Joseph F. Basile III, chief executive officer of JFB, said in a statement that “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.”
“By combining our platform with JFB, we are acquiring the resources we need to scale our manufacturing capabilities in the US and gaining access to the US public markets,” said Xtend CEO Aviv Shapira.
Xtend’s various types of drones are documented to have participated in attacks and targeted killings in Gaza. Reports have said an Xtend drone was used to find late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in battle in October 2024.
Israel’s use of deadly drone warfare has been widespread and is responsible for heavy civilian casualties in Gaza as well as in Lebanon.
The new merger has been described as an expansion of Trump’s business empire, which has been branching out into various sectors, including AI and cryptocurrency.
One such AI giant that has entered into multi-billion-dollar partnerships with the US and Israeli governments is Palantir, which also played a role in the Gaza genocide.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp openly stated this week that his company is dedicated “to the service of the west and the United States of America” and aims to “disrupt” and “on occasion” to “kill” the enemies of the west and the US.
Hellbound and Down 