Arizona Tribune - Powerus Launches Guardian-1 Interceptors to Defeat Low-Cost, One-Way Attack Drones

WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESS Newswire / March 18, 2026 / Autonomous Power Corporation, doing business as Powerus, a company co-founded by former U.S. Army Special Operations veterans that builds and scales autonomous drone systems for military and commercial use in high-risk environments, today introduced the "Guardian-1 Interceptor," a low-cost, high-speed counter-drone interceptor platform built to defeat hostile unmanned aerial threats at scale. The system recently completed flight demonstrations alongside war-game exercises at the National Training Center, validating its performance in the hands of U.S. Servicemembers.

Guardian-1 is built to deliver major cost advantages to traditional drone defenses, as it is designed for high-volume production, and rapid capacity expansion. The system's availability is designed to speed up U.S. defense responses, which have traditionally favored larger, slow-to-develop weapons systems that require extensive training and planning.

Existing interceptors have proven untenably expensive for countering low-cost, unmanned systems. The "missile math" problem, first encountered in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and now the Middle East, demonstrates that it's too costly to down a $30,000 drone with a $1 million interceptor. Powerus's focus on high adaptability led to the introduction of the Guardian platform to defeat threats posed by one-way attack drones and loitering munitions, including systems, such as the Shahed-136 and comparable long-range strike drones.

In addition to innovation and rapid production, government- and defense-customers seek equipment that has been used in demanding environments to help support effectiveness and reliability where failure could result in poor outcomes or loss of lives.

"Our mission at Powerus is to deliver reliable, tested autonomous systems at scale. Evolving battlefield threats can't wait on long research and development cycles. Swarms of low-cost attack drones are overwhelming defenses, and must be addressed now," said Brett Velicovich, Co-Founder of Powerus. "Guardian-1 was developed based on real-world operational use and feedback from operators who understand current mission requirements. Seeing U.S. servicemembers operate it at the National Training Center and observing its performance in a realistic training environment provides additional validation."

Large-scale battlefield exercises took place at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, in the hands of U.S. Servicemembers where emerging technologies are evaluated against modern threat test-environments. Servicemembers launched and operated the Guardian-1, executing high-speed flight profiles, confirming the interceptor's ability to close on and defeat threats before they reach friendly forces or critical assets.

MERGER WITH AUERUS GREENWAY HOLDINGS INC.

Powerus recently entered into a definitive merger agreement with Aureus Greenway Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:AGH), which is expected to result in a combined company operating under the name "Powerus Corporation" upon meeting certain closing conditions. Such closing conditions might never be met and the merger might never occur. Upon completion, Powerus will focus on supporting the American drone industry dominance through domestic manufacturing, autonomous systems innovation, and strategic defense partnerships.

GUARDIAN-1 PLATFORM OVERVIEW

The Guardian-1 Interceptor is a lightweight, high-speed counter-UAS platform engineered for rapid deployment and single-operator use. Built around a reinforced carbon fiber airframe, the system can reach speeds of 290 to 340 kilometers per hour, delivering the speed and agility required to intercept fast-moving aerial threats across a wide range of operational environments.

The Guardian-1 was specifically designed to counter one-way attack drones and loitering munitions, including systems in the class of the Shahed-136 and comparable long-range, one way attack strike drones that have become a defining feature of modern conflict. By providing a fast, cost-effective kinetic interception capability, the platform is designed to give operators a scalable answer to aerial threats before they reach their intended targets.

GUARDIAN-1 AVAILABILITY

The Guardian-1 Interceptor is available now for procurement by government and defense customers. Systems can be configured for rapid shipment to organizations requiring immediate counter-drone capability. Procurement inquiries may be directed to the Powerus defense sales team at power.us.

ABOUT POWERUS

Powerus is building the industrial infrastructure layer for the autonomous world, a platform for acquiring, integrating, and scaling autonomous systems designed to operate in high-consequence environments across defense, critical infrastructure, and precision agriculture. Founded by a team with direct operational experience in active conflict environments and humanitarian operations worldwide, Powerus brings together field-validated technologies under a common operating architecture, supported by U.S.-based manufacturing and leadership with demonstrated experience building companies from formation to public markets. Powerus operates through wholly owned subsidiaries Kaizen Aerospace, Inc., Tandem Defense LLC, and Agile Autonomy LLC. For more information, visit power.us.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the proposed business combination and anticipated benefits thereof, including future financial and operating results, statements related to the expected timing of the completion of the transactions, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of either company or of the combined company following the merger, anticipated future results of either company or of the combined company following the merger, the anticipated benefits and strategic and financial rationale of the merger and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "targets," "scheduled," "plans," "intends," "goal," "anticipates," "expects," "believes," "forecasts," "outlook," "estimates," "potential," or "continue" or negatives of such terms or other comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions believed to be reasonable, but there is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.

All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AGH or Powerus to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, (1) the risk of delays in consummating the potential transaction, including as a result of required shareholder and regulatory approvals, including Nasdaq listing requirements which may not be obtained on the expected timeline, or at all, (2) the risk of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, (3) the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits and projected synergies of the potential transactions will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period, (4) the limited operational history of Powerus as a combined organization and integration risks of acquired businesses, (5) diversion of management's attention or disruption to the parties' businesses as a result of the announcement and pendency of the transaction, including potential distraction of management from current plans and operations of AGH or Powerus and the ability of AGH or Powerus to retain and hire key personnel, (6) reputational risk and the reaction of each company's customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the transaction, (7) the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (8) the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings that may be instituted against AGH or Powerus related to the merger agreement or the transaction, (9) the risks associated with third party contracts containing consent and/or other provisions that may be triggered by the proposed transaction, (10) legislative, regulatory, political, market, economic and other conditions, developments and uncertainties affecting AGH's or Powerus's businesses; (11) the evolving legal, regulatory, tax, and international trade regimes; (12) the nature, cost and outcome of potential litigation and other legal proceedings, including any such proceedings related to the transactions, (13) restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact AGH's or Powerus's ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; and (14) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, extreme weather, natural disasters, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as AGH's and Powerus's response to any of the aforementioned factors.

Additional factors which could affect future results of AGH and Powerus can be found in AGH's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, in each case filed with the SEC and available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Neither Powerus nor AGH undertakes any obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

This document is for informational purposes only and is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made, except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT

In connection with the transaction, AGH will file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which will include an information statement and preliminary prospectus of AGH. After the registration statement is declared effective, AGH will mail to its stockholders a definitive information statement. Additionally, AGH expects to file other relevant materials in connection with the merger with the SEC. Investors and security holders are urged to read the registration statement and joint information statement/prospectus when they become available (and any other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the transaction or incorporated by reference into the joint information statement/prospectus) because such documents will contain important information regarding the proposed transaction and related matters. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by AGH through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov or at AGH's website at https://www.aureusgreenway.com/secfilings.

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CONTACTS:

INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jason Assad
678-570-6791

MEDIA RELATIONS
Escalate PR for Powerus
[email protected]

SOURCE: Powerus

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

D.Johnson--AT