Pentagon classifies the Vision Jet manufacturer as a Chinese military company operating in the USA.
Cirrus Aircraft, the Wisconsin general aviation manufacturer, has been designated as a Chinese military company doing business in the United States by the US Department of War (DOW).
Better known as a producer of the piston-engined SR20 and SR22 and the Vision Jet, Duluth-headquartered Cirrus has since 2011 been owned by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), which rescued the firm from potential collapse.
However, CAIGA is a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, better known as AVIC.
Updating its list of Chinese-state backed entities operating in the United States, the DOW on 8 June included Cirrus Design Corporation – the US entity’s legal name – as part of the broader AVIC group.
“AVIC is directly owned and controlled by [the Chinese government],” the DOW entry states, describing it as “a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base”.
Cirrus Aircraft is a Cayman Islands-registered company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It counts Cirrus Design Corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Through CAIGA, AVIC owns an 80% stake in Cirrus Aircraft, its annual report discloses.
In addition, Cirrus Aircraft in 2023 signed a three-year agreement with sister AVIC company AG Zhejiang to provide procurement support services for the SR22-derived AG100 programme.
Mobile, Alabama-based GA engine maker Continental Aerospace Technologies, another CAIGA-owned company, is also included on the DOW’s list.
However, this may not be for long: US firm Arcline Investment Management on 8 June announced it was to acquire the business for total consideration of $535 million.
CAIGA purchased the then Teledyne-Continental in 2010.
While no sanctions are attached to inclusion on the DOW list – compiled under section 1260H of the William M (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 – it does prevent the Pentagon from contracting or renewing work from those entities.
Although Cirrus’s website includes a US Air Force logo indicating it as a customer for its trainer-roled aircraft, it is unclear whether the service still operates those assets.
AVWeb reports that the final examples from a 25-unit order of SR20-derived T-53As were handed over to the Air Force Academy in 2012.
Cirrus did not respond to a request for comment.
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