Blackwater USA

Blackwater USA was founded in 1997 by former U.S. Navy SEALs Gary Jackson and Erik Prince, with Prince providing the financial backing and business expertise. The company took its name from the peat-darkened water of the area’s drainage canals.⁠[1]

In 1998 the company’s training center, built on some 6,000 acres of private land in Camden County, North Carolina, became operational. Its facilities included live-fire ranges, urban mock-ups, a simulated high school and a simulated naval ship.⁠[1]

In 2002 the company won a five-year, $35.7 million training contract from the U.S. Navy. In 2004 it expanded its operations into Currituck County.⁠[1]

In October 2007 the company changed its name from Blackwater USA to Blackwater Worldwide.⁠[2]

On February 13, 2009, the company announced that it would no longer operate under the Blackwater name and would become Xe, pronounced like the letter Z, serving as the parent brand for about two dozen subsidiaries, none of which would keep Blackwater in its name. In a note to employees, President Gary Jackson said the company’s “primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world.” The company then had nearly $1 billion in annual revenue, and its aviation support business had a fleet of 76 aircraft deployed to places such as West Africa and Afghanistan.⁠[3]

Its Blackwater Lodge and Training Center was renamed U.S. Training Center, Inc.⁠[4]

In March 2009 Erik Prince stepped aside as chief executive, remaining chairman but withdrawing from day-to-day operations, and Joseph Yorio became president, replacing the retiring Gary Jackson. The company, still headquartered in Moyock, North Carolina, continued to expand law-enforcement training with a renewed focus on international clients.⁠[5]

On March 25, 2010, AAR Corp. announced an agreement to acquire the aviation business Aviation Worldwide Services (AWS) from Xe Services LLC for $200 million. Through its subsidiaries Presidential AirwaysPresidential AirwaysPresidential Airways is an American charter cargo and passenger airline that Erik Prince bought in 2003. It became part of Blackwater’s aviation business, Aviation Worldwide Services, providing fixed- and rotary-wing airlift for U.S. government customers, and was sold with AWS to AAR Corp. in 2010, after which the business operated as AAR Airlift.Open the full entry and STI Aviation, AWS provided fixed- and rotary-wing flight operations and rotary-wing aircraft modifications for the U.S. Departments of Defense and State and other government customers, operated 58 customized aircraft and was expected to generate about $175 million in annual revenue.⁠[6]

The acquisition closed on April 7, 2010, and AWS became part of AAR’s new Government and Defense Services segment.⁠[7]

In December 2010 USTC Holdings, an investor group including the New York private equity firms Forte Capital Advisors and Manhattan Partners, announced the purchase of Moyock-based Xe Services; financial terms were not disclosed. The buyers said Erik Prince, the sole selling owner, would divest his entire equity stake and would not be involved in managing or operating the company.⁠[8]

The purchase included the company’s training facility in North Carolina.⁠[9]

In 2011 the company moved its headquarters from North Carolina to Arlington in northern Virginia. That December it announced its change of name from Xe Services to Academi, a name based on Plato’s Akademia.⁠[10]

It was the company’s second name change in less than three years. Chief executive Ted Wright said, “Simply stated, we are a new company.”⁠[11]

On June 6, 2014, Constellis Holdings, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire Constellis Group, Inc., placing Academi and Triple Canopy under the same management. The combined group also included Constellis Ltd., Strategic Social, Tidewater Global Services, National Strategic Protective Services, ACADEMI Training Center and International Development Solutions, with Craig Nixon as chief executive, Red McCombs as board chairman and more than 6,000 employees.⁠[12]

In August 2016 a group of investors led by ApolloApolloApollo (Apollo Global Management, Inc.) is an asset management and retirement services group founded in 1990 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker APO. Its investment business spans credit, equity, and real assets; after its 2022 merger with Athene, asset management and retirement services were brought under the same listed parent company. At the end of June 2026, the group reported assets under management of about $1.047 trillion.Open the full entry Global Management, together with Constellis Group executives, Forte Capital and Manhattan Partners, announced a buyout of Constellis Group for an undisclosed sum. Constellis Group then had more than 8,000 employees in at least 25 countries, and its subsidiaries included Academi, Triple Canopy and Olive Group.⁠[13]

Blackwater USA was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Prince Group. Its units were the Blackwater Training Center; Blackwater Security Consulting, which offered risk assessment and training; Blackwater Target Systems, which made shooting-range target systems; Blackwater K9, which trained dogs; and Raven Development Group, a facility design and construction business launched in 1997.⁠[1]

As of 2008 the company’s aviation business was held by Aviation Worldwide Services, which owned three subsidiaries: STI Aviation, Air Quest and Presidential Airways. Presidential Airways was a charter cargo and passenger airline, and STI Aviation was a Federal Aviation Administration–certified repair station. The company also ran an airport at its North Carolina facility.⁠[14]