Erik Prince, Former Blackwater Head and MAGA Ally, Eyes Ukrainian Drone Market
Erik Prince, founder of the former private military company Blackwater and a well-known MAGA supporter, is seeking to enter the Ukrainian defense technology market, particularly the drone sector, offering his services and investment opportunities.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to The Guardian.
According to sources, Erik Prince is actively offering his services and looking for opportunities to acquire Ukrainian companies that manufacture drones, which are currently considered strategic assets of the country.
They account for about 80% of casualties among Russian forces, making the Ukrainian market highly valuable and attractive to foreign investors and defense companies.
“Drones are now an integral part of the PMC [private military contractor] world. If you’re a PMC and you don’t have a drone or possibly an electronic warfare capability, you are antiquated,” said a former American special forces soldier with experience in Ukraine.
Former military personnel note that drones and electronic warfare capabilities have become key elements for modern private military companies, and Prince understands this perfectly well.
Erik Prince plans to enter the “valuable drone sector” and is already in talks with leading players in the industry. His interest in Ukraine coincided with attempts by the Trump administration to broker a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, giving Prince an additional opportunity to find new business opportunities in the field of defense technologies.
His history shows that he is always looking for profitable and strategically important markets. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, his company received contracts worth millions of dollars, providing security and operations for the CIA, the State Department, and the Pentagon. Although Prince`s contractors were involved in the 2007 Baghdad massacre, which led to congressional investigations and Blackwater being blacklisted, this did not stop him from seeking new opportunities.
By 2025, Prince was already involved in controversial programs related to the destruction of drones in Haiti, as well as sending hundreds of fighters to countries where Western mining companies operate, under the banner of his new venture, Vectus Global.
In addition, the Pentagon itself and its special forces units are interested in partnering with American drone manufacturers present in Ukraine to prepare for future conflicts and understand the needs of soldiers.
Defense Minister Pete Hegseth emphasized the importance of drones as a key innovation on the battlefield and called for mass production and implementation of unmanned platforms with the participation of corporate partners.
“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year’s casualties in Ukraine,” he said. “Emergent technologies require new funding lines.”
As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukrainian interceptor drones shot down 150 Russian strike and trap drones in one night, demonstrating the growing effectiveness of domestic technologies in countering Moscow's massive attacks.