Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company
Iranian state manufacturer of uncrewed aircraft, known in the arms trade as HESA.
Treasury named The Firm as an end user of a procurement network it designated on 29 September 2026, alleging a Tehran company bought electronics and connectors for it. The plant at Shahin Shahr has been under American sanctions since 2008.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company
Received electronics and connectors, Treasury says
Iran Conflict 2026: Treasury names 10 Iran missile suppliersBackground
Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, known in the arms trade as HESA, is the Iranian state's military aircraft builder. Its plant stands at Shahin Shahr in Isfahan Province, on a site the American firm Textron built in the 1970s to assemble Bell 214 helicopters, a programme that ended with the 1979 Revolution. The company now sits under the Iran Aviation Industries Organization, part of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
It has been under sanctions for most of two decades. The United States designated it in 2008, the European Union on 26 July 2010 and the United Kingdom the following day. Brussels listed it again on 30 January 2023, that time over drones supplied to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
Shahin Shahr turns out the airframes behind Iran's uncrewed aircraft, which Tehran both fires and sells abroad. That makes the plant a producer in this war rather than an actor in it. Tehran presents the plant as proof of aviation self-sufficiency under sanctions, while Western designations keep describing it as a buyer of foreign parts.
Sanctions since 2008 have not stopped imports
The designation of 29 September 2026 did not ADD this company to a list it was already on. It named the company as a destination: Treasury alleges that KavoshCom Asia R and D Group of Tehran procured electronics, connectors among them, for the aircraft builder, and designated the Hong Kong trader it says supplied those parts.
That is a statement about what the plant cannot make. Eighteen years of American listing, European listing from 2010 and a second European listing in 2023 have not closed the gap between Iranian airframes and foreign electronics. Treasury's description of The Firm as specialising in uncrewed and military aircraft is the end of the line the notice traces: the airframes are domestic, the components are bought abroad. The allegations belong to the designating government rather than to any court.
What is HESA in Iran?
Who owns Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company?
Why is HESA sanctioned?
Where is HESA based?
