TDFP EXCLUSIVE: Drone Maker Draganfly Hires Former House Armed Services Staff Director to Lobby on Pentagon Drone Buys, Its Third Lobbying Firm Since August
Draganfly, a drone maker founded in Canada that is expanding its U.S. defense business, has hired a lobbying firm run by two former senior House Armed Services Committee staffers to work on the Pentagon's purchases of drones, according to a federal lobbying registration reviewed by The Digital Free Press.
The VM Group registered on Oct. 24 to lobby for Draganfly on the "Acquisition of UAS systems at DOW," meaning unmanned aircraft systems at the Department of War, the secondary name the Trump administration gave the Defense Department in 2025. The registration took effect Oct. 1.
The filing lists two lobbyists: Christopher Vieson, whose listed former position is "Staff Director House Committee on Armed Services," and Phil MacNaughton, listed as "Professional Staff House Committee on Armed Services."
The VM Group's filing lists Draganfly at an address in Tampa, Florida, describes its business as unmanned aerial systems and names no foreign entity with an ownership stake or control over the client.
Who the Lobbyists Are
Vieson was the committee's minority staff director in the 117th Congress, according to the Armed Services Committee's staff list for that session. His firm's biography says he also served as staff director of the House Homeland Security, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Intelligence committees, and spent ten years working for House Republican leadership. He is a commissioner on the congressionally created National Commission on the Future of the Navy, the biography says.
MacNaughton spent 17 years on the Armed Services Committee staff. In a Feb. 4, 2026, tribute in the Congressional Record, the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, said MacNaughton joined the staff in 2009, served as the Democratic lead for the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee from 2011, and led efforts to secure "the most significant acquisition reforms in a generation." Smith said it was MacNaughton's last week on the committee. A 2000 Naval Academy graduate, MacNaughton retired from the Navy Reserve as a commander in 2021, according to the tribute.
The VM Group filed its first lobbying registrations in March 2026. Its other clients include the autonomous boat maker Saronic, Scale AI, Foundry Robotics and the Whiskey Project Group, according to federal records. In the July-September quarter, the firm reported $30,000 each from Saronic and Scale AI, $37,500 from the Whiskey Project Group and $22,500 from Foundry Robotics.
Draganfly's Third Firm Since August
The VM Group is the third lobbying firm Draganfly has hired in about two months, the filings show.
The law and lobbying firm Becker & Poliakoff registered on Aug. 31 to lobby for Draganfly Innovations USA on "enterprise drone solutions issues" and reported $20,000 in income from the company for the July-September quarter, with contacts in the House and Senate. Etherton and Associates registered on Sept. 15 to lobby for Draganfly on the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act and reported no lobbying activity in the third quarter.
The hiring follows a run of moves to grow Draganfly's U.S. military business. On Oct. 12, the company announced a new subsidiary, Draganfly Defense USA, with former Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly as chairman and retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. AJ Pasagian as president. "Establishing Draganfly Defense USA creates a dedicated structure to serve the unique requirements of the U.S. defense market," Modly said in the company's announcement.
On Sept. 28, Draganfly announced a $10 million investment, with $5 million each from Unusual Machines and an unnamed U.S. investment fund. Reuters reported that Unusual Machines, a maker of drone motors and other components, counts Donald Trump Jr. as a member of its advisory board.
A Canadian Counter-Drone Startup's First Hire
The same week, Iron Shield Systems, a defense-technology company based in North York, Ontario, hired its first registered U.S. lobbyists. The Madison Group registered on Oct. 23 to lobby for the company on "issues related to drone defense capabilities." The filing lists lobbyists Ari Storch and Marcus Mason and lists no former government positions for either.
Iron Shield's website describes it as an Ontario corporation that is developing its own drone interceptors, called the INT-3 and INT-5, and working with Ukrainian technology companies on systems "proposed for North American licensed production." The registration is the first federal lobbying filing to name Iron Shield as a client.
The Justice Department's Foreign Agents Registration Act data, which includes registrations through Oct. 22, does not list Iron Shield or Draganfly as a foreign principal. Lobbyists working for foreign companies may register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act instead of the Foreign Agents Registration Act when their work is not on behalf of a foreign government or political party.
The Madison Group has represented other foreign clients. It previously reported $720,000 in lobbying income over four quarters from MTN (Dubai), a unit of the telecom company that owns 49% of Iran's Irancell, as The Digital Free Press reported on Oct. 26.
POLITICO's Influence newsletter listed both new registrations among the day's filings on Oct. 26. The Digital Free Press found no news report on who Draganfly hired or what the lobbyists will work on before publication.
Images: U.S. Army soldier launching an RQ-11 Raven, U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Laura Bonano, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Aerial view of the Pentagon, U.S. Navy photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: The VM Group, lobbying registration (LD-1) for Draganfly, posted Oct. 24, 2026: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/f4a378b5-ed1d-4c64-9802-e10c10077c0b/print/ ; Becker & Poliakoff, registration for Draganfly Innovations USA, posted Aug. 31, 2026: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/01195cee-bd43-409c-aa9c-c4752e06b038/print/ ; Becker & Poliakoff, third-quarter 2026 report for Draganfly Innovations USA: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/9efb6636-31fc-4436-a96c-b75a332e1a5a/print/ ; Etherton and Associates, registration for Draganfly, posted Sept. 15, 2026: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/e81232f2-f64f-4dea-ad8b-e1af0b2f3c78/print/ ; Etherton and Associates, third-quarter 2026 report (no activity): https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/301027cf-db7f-4951-a00d-b1140c4b834a/print/ ; The Madison Group, registration for Iron Shield Systems Inc, posted Oct. 23, 2026: https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/3d6e0038-9653-4a9d-9103-1919cbbc3d32/print/ ; Federal lobbying database, registrant "VM Group" (all filings, 2026): https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/?registrant_name=VM%20GROUP ; Congressional Record, "Recognizing Phil MacNaughton for His Service to the House Armed Services Committee," Rep. Adam Smith, Feb. 4, 2026: https://www.congress.gov/119/crec/2026/02/04/172/25/modified/CREC-2026-02-04-pt1-PgE110.htm ; House Armed Services Committee, staff for the 117th Congress: https://democrats-armedservices.house.gov/_cache/files/a/a/aaf28edd-17af-48ed-b93a-1301827cad52/88C331E7E685C29DE48C4C545D4F15E5.committee-staff-for-117th-congress.pdf ; VM Group, Chris Vieson biography: https://www.vmgroupdc.com/chris-bio ; VM Group, Phil MacNaughton biography: https://www.vmgroupdc.com/phil-bio ; Draganfly, "Draganfly Establishes Dedicated U.S. Defense Subsidiary," Oct. 12, 2026: https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/draganfly-establishes-dedicated-u-defense-123000465.html ; Draganfly, "Draganfly Announces Closing of US$10 Million Strategic Investment," Sept. 29, 2026: https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/draganfly-announces-closing-us-10-million-strategic-investment-2026-09-30 ; Reuters, "Trump Jr.-backed Unusual Machines, US asset manager invest $10 million in Canada's Draganfly," Sept. 28, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-jr-backed-unusual-machines-us-asset-manager-invest-10-million-canadas-2026-09-28/ ; Iron Shield Systems, About page: https://ironshieldsystems.com/about.html ; U.S. Department of Justice, FARA bulk data (foreign principals): https://efile.fara.gov/bulk/zip/FARA_All_ForeignPrincipals.csv.zip
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