FORCE FOR HIRE — Blackwater. The name has not been used officially for years, but it still defines how many people think about private military contracting.
FORCE FOR HIRE — From Grunt to Blackwater, we’re shifting our focus from the broad politics of private military contracting to get a boots-on-the-ground perspective. Joining us is Adam Gonzales, a man who has experienced life as both a traditional soldier and a high-stakes private operator.
UKRAINE — The evolution of modern warfare is accelerating, and Erik Prince is positioning himself at the center of it once again—this time not with boots on the ground, but with autonomous systems in the sky. Prince is now backing Swarmer, a defense technology company focused on developing AI-powered drone swarms. The platform has already […]
Erik Dean Prince is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company (PMC) Blackwater USA. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and its chairman until its sale to a group of investors in 2010. Prince heads the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group and served as […]
"There are a lot of assumptions about contractors, and a lot of the assumptions are wrong." Those are the words of a private security contractor who asked to be referred to only as "Lloyd" for this story because like most of his colleagues he is not authorized to speak to the media. By Lloyd's count, […]