Honeywell Aerospace targets European demand with ITAR-free defense parts

Honeywell Aerospace will unveil a new ITAR-free product for the international defense market at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain later this month. The push is aimed at buyers who want defense parts and systems that are less exposed to U.S. export controls and the risk of later re-export delays.

For European militaries and defense contractors, “ITAR-free” has become a commercially important label. The U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, administered by the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls under the Arms Export Control Act, governs the export and re-export of defense articles, defense services and related technical data. That makes products designed without restricted U.S. technologies easier to move across borders and easier to build into multinational weapons programs without triggering Washington’s approval process.

Honeywell has already put about 1,000 engineers in Poland and the Czech Republic to work on technologies that are not governed by ITAR. Chief executive Jim Currier said the goal is to adapt the business to local demand. “Part of it is looking, acting, feeling and speaking like a European company,” he said.

Farnborough, one of the world’s biggest aerospace and defense trade shows, runs from July 20 to 24. NATO leaders have announced arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars, while the European Commission’s ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030 package, presented in March 2025, aims to mobilize more than €800 billion in defense spending and includes a €150 billion SAFE loan instrument for joint procurement.

International sales made up about 30% of Honeywell’s defense business last year, up from roughly 18% in 2020. Honeywell Aerospace also completed its spin-off from Honeywell International on June 29, 2026, and began trading as a standalone company the same day.