Pentagon Identifies Comac As Chinese Military Contractor

The U.S. Defense Department on Jan. 6 added Comac to a congressionally mandated list of Chinese military companies operating in the U.S.

The Pentagon designation complies with Section 1260H of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but does not immediately trigger any new sanctions or export restrictions.

But the move puts the Chinese commercial aircraft manufacturer on notice. On June 30, 2026, Section 805 of the fiscal 2024 NDAA will come into force, imposing possible new contracting restrictions for DOD on companies placed on the list.

Previous updates to the Section 1260H list included other Chinese defense industry heavyweights, including AVIC, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

But Pentagon officials had previously passed on adding Comac, the maker of the ARJ21 regional jet and C919 narrowbody, to the list. After several bungled attempts by AVIC to develop a commercial aircraft business, China created Comac in 2008 to boost the country’s competitiveness against Boeing and Airbus airliners.

The Section 1260H listing stopped short of providing any justification for adding Comac to a list of Chinese military contractors. A 2023 report by the Rand think tank, however, suggested possible contributions by Comac to China’s military capabilities. In times of war, Chinese airliners can be used to augment military airlift, the report said. The industrial capacity for assembling commercial airliners also can be repurposed to support military requirements in times of industrial mobilization, the think tank added.

In 2013, Comac opened a U.S.-based subsidiary in Newport Beach, California, to support sales and marketing efforts.