Defense companies that attracted investments from Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have repeatedly received major government contracts in the months that followed, with several winning their first federal awards shortly after the brothers’ money or names arrived. An ABC News analysis found the businesses have collected more than $6 billion in active or promised contracts since the investments, based on the government’s official contract reporting. The latest came Tuesday, when President Donald Trump announced a $6.6 billion Baltimore submarine-parts project with Anduril Industries.
The Pattern Begins With Anduril
The sequence starts in June 2025, when 1789 Capital, a venture firm that lists Donald Trump Jr. as one of six partners alongside three founders, took a major stake in Anduril as part of a $2.5 billion investment. Since then, Anduril has been awarded 135 other U.S. government contracts and has received about $1.8 billion from them, per active contracts posted to SAM.gov. Anduril did not respond to questions about those awards or the 1789 Capital investment. USASpending.gov shows the company has held government contracts since 2019, so it was not a newcomer to federal work.
August 2025: Rare Earths and Rocket Engines
In August 2025, Donald Trump Jr.’s portfolio added Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth mining company that produces critical materials for defense manufacturing. That same month, the Office of Strategic Capital loaned the company $620 million to expand. Vulcan Elements did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The same month, 1789 Capital invested $60 million in Texas-based Firehawk Aerospace, according to PitchBook portfolio data, and Firehawk won a $4.9 million Air Force contract for hybrid rocket engine development. More followed: $3.2 million in May 2026, an undisclosed multimillion-dollar Air Force Research Laboratory award in July and $24 million in Defense Department munitions contracts in August 2026. Firehawk has held government contracts under both the Biden and Trump administrations since its 2019 founding, and told ABC News its awards are “solely the product of engineering expertise and capacity.”
Autumn 2025: Quantum Computing and Drone Motors
In September 2025, ABC News found, 1789 Capital was tied to a $1 billion raise for California-based quantum computing company PsiQuantum. Its existing Defense Department contract has grown by more than $157 million since. PsiQuantum later signed a $100 million letter of intent with the Commerce Department in May 2026 and a $125 million one with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in July. It did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Shortly after Trump won the 2024 election, Donald Trump Jr. was named an adviser to Florida-based drone maker Unusual Machines, a company with no prior government contracts. In October 2025, it landed a direct Defense Department agreement for 3,500 motors compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act, with a potential order of 20,000 more in 2026.
2026: Automation and More Drones
Early in 2026, 1789 Capital made a $391 million investment in Hadrian, an AI-driven automated manufacturing company, according to ABC News’ analysis. A few months later, in March, Hadrian won its first public contracts: a $39.2 million Army agreement for machinery and manufacturing, and a $900 million Navy deal to build highly automated submarine factories. Hadrian did not respond to a request for comment.
In March 2026, drone company Powerus announced the Trump brothers as “notable investors.” With no prior government contracts, it won its first Air Force purchase order the next month for an undisclosed amount. In July, it was awarded up to $90 million for aerial-denial unmanned aircraft systems.
Also in April, Eric Trump, named chief strategy adviser to humanoid robot startup Foundation Future Industries, touted its first contract, worth $24 million. He and CEO Sankaet Pathal described the award on Fox News. Pathal did not respond to ABC News about the contract or Trump’s role.
The Baltimore Announcement
The most recent award came Tuesday, when Trump announced that Anduril is investing $3.7 billion in a Baltimore County facility, with the Navy supporting $2.9 billion of the $6.6 billion total. The site, at Sparrows Point, will make critical parts for the Virginia-class attack submarine. “Anduril is investing $3.7 billion in a state-of-the-art shipyard that will be known forever as Arsenal-2,” Trump said.
Sparrows Point is a 3,300-acre former steel and shipbuilding site with a deep-water port, and Anduril had previously been reported to have signed a memorandum of understanding with its operator. The company has also grown fast: it raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation in May 2026 and reported $2.2 billion in 2025 revenue.
Denials and Responses
The Pentagon and the brothers reject any suggestion the money influenced the awards. A Pentagon official said “No company receives preferential treatment,” adding that investors and political connections play no role in funding decisions. A spokesperson for the brothers said they do not seek to influence any government procurement or award, calling attempts to portray their investing as improper “a deliberate distortion of the facts.”
Powerus said its interest from the brothers is indirect, held through an investor called American Ventures, and that neither is an adviser. “Defense procurement is merit-based,” a Powerus spokesperson said. The White House declined to comment.
Democrats Press for an Investigation
In May, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Robert Garcia and Tammy Duckworth asked Pentagon Inspector General Platte B. Moring III to investigate the approved deals. They said they hoped his office would take “corruption in the DoD award process” seriously. The lawmakers continue to point to that request, and no investigation has been announced.
Why the Submarine Contract Stands Out
The Baltimore project is tied to a major Navy bottleneck. The Congressional Research Service has found Virginia-class output has run at about 1.1 to 1.2 boats per year since 2022, well below the two-a-year the Navy has long bought. The Navy’s long-range shipbuilding plan aims for two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class boat annually by fiscal year 2031, backed by $6.2 billion in industrial-base spending. The AUKUS pact would require 2.33 Virginias a year.