CHAOS Industries joins low-cost interceptor parade with VESPID design

WASHINGTON — Defense tech startup CHAOS Industries has unveiled a new family of small low-cost interceptors, dubbed VESPID.

The system comes in two sizes: the Mk 0, which is “man-portable and designed for austere environments,” and the Mk 1, which is “a faster, more maneuverable variant designed for high-density installations with a multitube launcher,” according to a company press release.

That multitube launcher is an existing system from ISS Aerospace, a UK company, according to a company spokesperson, who added that the Mk 1 can be integrated with Coyote launchers as well. That’s notable, as integration with Coyote is a key requirement for the Army’s Next Generation C-sUAS Missile program, which the service launched in August.

The spokesperson said that while the firm is not under contract at this time with any militaries, “We are participating in several domestic and international competitions with both Mk 0 and Mk 1 variants.”

The press release also highlights an “[a]bility to operate in congested electromagnetic environments.” According to the spokesperson, that line is in reference to a plan to use CHAOS’s radar transmitter “as a datalink to burn through jamming. In addition, the datalink waveform contains means for error detection and correction.”

Production wise, CHAOS claims plans are in place for a production capacity of 12,000 interceptors per year, with “a manufacturing architecture capable of expanding to 50,000” as needed. Work would be done at the company’s recently opened El Segundo, Calif. location.

The Los Angeles-based firm, which launched in 2022, becomes one of many to roll out new missile defense systems during this year’s AUSA conference, including low-cost interceptors from Anduril and Lockheed Martin, and a host of c-UAS radars and EW systems on the show floor.