Honeywell Aerospace is expanding production of defense components designed without restricted U.S. technologies, responding to European demand for weapons systems free from Washington's export controls. The Arizona-based supplier has deployed 1,000 engineers in Poland and the Czech Republic specifically to design products that bypass U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations — a strategic shift driven by mounting European defense spending and growing concern that the U.S. could block re-export of sensitive American components embedded in allied weapons.
The move reflects a fundamental tension in transatlantic defense cooperation. European governments want sovereignty over their military supply chains. They don't want Washington deciding whether Berlin can sell a missile system to Riyadh or whether Paris can export fighter jets to New Delhi. ITAR restrictions give the U.S. precisely that veto power over any weapon containing American parts.
Europe's Push for Strategic Autonomy
Honeywell Aerospace is set to announce a new ITAR-free product for the international defense sector at the Farnborough Airshow in Britain later this month, according to a source. The company declined to comment on the announcement. Jim Currier, Honeywell Aerospace's CEO, said in an interview in late June that the company's engineering teams in Central Europe have a clear mandate. "Part of it is looking, acting, feeling and speaking like a European company," Currier said. "Their main mantra, and drive and edict is to design non-ITAR technology for ... local strategy."
International sales now account for about 30% of Honeywell Aerospace's defense business, up from around 18% in 2020. The company's defense operations — which include navigation systems and actuators for missiles — represent roughly 40% of total revenue. Currier said the company was using its global presence to scale ITAR-free navigational technology from its 2024 acquisition of Italy's Civitanavi. "That has been the playbook," he said. "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."
The Regulatory Reality
While European demand for ITAR-free components has existed for years, geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies are underpinning greater calls for the technology. The Canadian government said it was made aware during last year's Paris Air Show of greater demand from European defense firms for North American suppliers free from U.S. ITAR restrictions. That demand has led Canada to attempt further integration into European supply chains.
Michael Iacovelli, CEO of Toronto-area aerospace and defense components supplier Ben Machine Products, said more than half of its work is now required by clients to be ITAR-free. He said none of its work needed to be ITAR-free in 2018. Some European defense companies and North American suppliers are expected to discuss demand for parts not governed by U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations at the world's largest air show later this month.
The shift comes as U.S. companies such as dronemakers have been expanding in Europe, while the U.S. this week floated a new missile maintenance facility on the continent and two defense contractors discussed building ATACMS ballistic missiles for the first time in Germany. The company said it's also developing non-ITAR technologies for Asia-Pacific partners like Japan and South Korea.
Why This Matters:
European defense autonomy isn't an abstract political slogan — it's a procurement requirement with billions in contracts at stake. When a European country buys a weapons system containing U.S. components, it hands Washington a permanent veto over how that system can be used or resold. That's increasingly unacceptable to governments spending record sums on defense. Honeywell's pivot shows how market forces are reshaping the transatlantic defense relationship. European nations want interoperability with NATO, but they also want sovereignty over their own military-industrial base. The growth of ITAR-free supply chains represents a quiet but fundamental rebalancing: Europe paying for its own defense on its own terms. For American suppliers, the choice is stark — design around U.S. export controls or lose market share to competitors who will.