The United States Department of Defense has designated aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft as an entity identified as a Chinese military company operating in the United States under the Section 1260H list published on June 8 under the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The designation does not impose any economic sanctions on the OEM.

The OEM was listed as a subsidiary of AVIC - Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

“AVIC is a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defence industrial base because it is affiliated with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND),” the document states.

Designation under Section 1260 primarily affects procurement and defence contracting within the DoD, which cannot enter into or renew agreements with the OEM. Other agencies and contractors working with the government often avoid Section 1260H-designated companies as a compliance precaution, but are not formally banned from doing so.

Cirrus Aircraft was acquired by AVIC subsidiary China Aviation Industry General Aircraft in 2011 for approximately USD210 million. At the time, the transaction was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

In 2021, AVIC was one of 59 entities added to the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies (NS-CMIC) list, which restricts the purchase or sale of publicly traded securities of designated Chinese entities by United States citizens.

More recently, in mid-2025, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the state had blocked Cirrus Aircraft's attempt to purchase land near Provo, citing national security concerns related to AVIC ownership and Utah law restricting land acquisitions by certain foreign entities.

Cirrus Aircraft is the largest OEM of piston-powered general aviation aircraft in the United States, manufacturing the SR20 and SR22 types, alongside the jet-powered Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. The United States Air Force operates twenty-five T-53A Kadet II trainer aircraft, based on the SR20.

ch-aviation contacted Cirrus Aircraft for comment.