U.S. aerospace supplier Honeywell Aerospace is expanding its lineup of defense products built without restricted American technologies, responding to growing European demand for components that won’t be held up by U.S. export rules.
NATO leaders gathered in Turkey this week, where they announced arms agreements worth tens of billions of dollars. The meetings came amid pressure from the United States for European nations to shoulder more of the burden for their own defense, as well as ongoing concerns stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Later this month, the world’s largest air show is expected to bring together European defense companies and North American suppliers to discuss the growing appetite for parts not subject to U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, commonly known as ITAR.
Defense officials and industry executives say European nations are increasingly seeking ITAR-free systems out of concern that Washington could block the re-export of sensitive American components built into foreign-made weapons.
According to a source who spoke with Reuters, Honeywell Aerospace plans to unveil a new ITAR-free product aimed at the international defense market at the Farnborough Airshow in Britain later this month.
The Arizona-based company declined to comment on any upcoming announcement. However, CEO Jim Currier told Reuters in a late June interview that the company has assigned roughly 1,000 engineers across Poland and the Czech Republic specifically to design technologies free from ITAR restrictions.
Currier described the company’s approach to operating in Europe by saying, “Part of it is looking, acting, feeling and speaking like a European company.”
He added that the engineers at the company’s European subsidiary have a clear focus: “Their main mantra, and drive and edict is to design non-ITAR technology for … local strategy.”
This push comes as American companies, including drone manufacturers, have been growing their footprints across Europe. This week, the U.S. also floated plans for a new missile maintenance facility on the continent, and two defense contractors discussed the possibility of producing ATACMS ballistic missiles in Germany for the first time.
Honeywell Aerospace anticipates its defense business will see more of its revenue come from international sources. Defense currently makes up about 40% of the company’s total revenue and includes products such as navigation systems and missile actuators. International sales represented roughly 30% of its defense business last year, up significantly from around 18% in 2020.
Currier said the company is leveraging its global reach to expand ITAR-free navigation technology gained through its 2024 purchase of Italy’s Civitanavi. “That has been the playbook. We are developing non-ITAR technologies for use in the EU and overseas for our partners in the Asia-Pacific region, like Japan and Korea,” he said.
While European demand for ITAR-free components is not new, rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies have intensified calls for such technology.
Canada’s government said it became aware of heightened demand from European defense firms for North American suppliers free from U.S. ITAR restrictions during last year’s Paris Air Show. That demand has since pushed Canada to seek deeper integration into European defense supply chains.
Michael Iacovelli, CEO of Toronto-area aerospace and defense parts supplier Ben Machine Products, said more than half of his company’s work now requires ITAR-free status at the client’s request — a stark contrast to 2018, when none of its work carried that requirement.
