Why It Matters
CHAOS Industries, a defense contractor valued at approximately $4.5–$5 billion, terminated its in-house lobbying operation effective June 30, according to a filing signed Aug. 21. The company's senior vice president of global government relations, Caroline Cooper, served as the registered lobbyist for the effort. The company had ramped up its in-house advocacy starting in the fourth quarter of 2025, investing $480,000 across three quarters of active lobbying before ending the operation.
The spending trajectory showed acceleration. CHAOS Industries reported $100,000 in in-house lobbying expenses in the fourth quarter of 2025, then increased spending to $160,000 in the first quarter and $220,000 in the second quarter, the final quarter before termination. CHAOS Industries Inc. reported a total of $700,000 in lobbying expenses across all filings this year.
CHAOS Industries had just closed a $510 million Series D funding round in October, led by Valor Equity Partners, suggesting financial capacity was not the constraining factor. The round, announced in November, valued the company at $4.5 billion and brought its total funding to about $1 billion. The company had also secured military contracts, including a $2 million U.S. Air Force contract to adapt its ASTRIA radar for training at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and a separate $1.9 million AFWERX Tactical Funding Increase award to adapt ASTRIA into a multi-object tracking instrumentation radar for test and training missions at Eglin.
Broader Context
CHAOS Industries develops advanced radar and air defense systems powered by its proprietary Coherent Distributed Networks technology. The company produces Vanquish, a distributed early-warning radar system, and ASTRIA, a long-range radar system designed for high-precision tracking, extended-range surveillance and persistent monitoring.
Throughout its lobbying campaign, CHAOS Industries focused heavily on defense appropriations and authorization bills. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company lobbied on advanced radar issues in H.R. 4016, the FY26 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, as well as on SBIR/STTR reauthorization and H.R. 5061, the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act. H.R. 5061 was introduced in the House in August 2025 and later ordered reported, as amended, by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
In the first quarter, CHAOS Industries lobbied on the FY27 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill and the FY27 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, both with a focus on advanced radar and technology priorities. The company also continued lobbying on SBIR/STTR reauthorization.
The company lobbied on advanced radar technology issues related to H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, and S. 4784, the Senate's National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027. It also lobbied on H.R. 8646, the FY27 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, and the FY27 Department of Defense appropriations bills in the House and Senate.
Congress had not finalized the FY27 defense and homeland security appropriations bills when CHAOS Industries ended its in-house lobbying operation, meaning the legislative landscape remained unsettled when the company wound down the effort.
Throughout its lobbying campaign, CHAOS Industries also lobbied on international sales issues across multiple quarters. The company has deployed its technology overseas and participated in U.S. Central Command's Desert Guardian exercise, suggesting its products were already gaining traction in the defense establishment.
The Bottom Line
The company had previously worked with Aquia Group LLC in the first and second quarters of 2025, paying the firm $50,000 and $60,000, respectively, for lobbying services on defense authorization and appropriations measures.
Cooper, who held the title of vice president of global government relations during the fourth quarter of 2025 before becoming senior vice president of global government relations by the second quarter, brought experience in the defense industry, including work at Raytheon.
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