Moolenaar: French Aerospace Company Supports the CCP's Military Capabilities

Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar has sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth concerning the operations of French aerospace company Safran in China and the French government's role in impeding the Select Committee’s investigation into aerospace industry activities in China. This new letter follows Moolenaar's December 2025 letter, in which he alerted Hegseth to a similar obstruction by the French government involving Airbus.

“As the French government blocked us from learning more about Airbus’ activities, we expect the same treatment for Safran. Therefore, the Select Committee wanted to inform you of Safran’s Chinese operations. Safran plays an important role in the U.S. defense industrial base, including developing quantum sensing technology, maintaining engines for the U.S. Army’s UH-72A Lakota helicopter, as well as landing systems for various U.S. military aircraft. The U.S. government should have policies in place to ensure that its contractors are not directly or indirectly advancing China’s military-civilian fusion capabilities in the aerospace industry," begins Moolenaar.

“Advanced commercial technologies—such as integrated flight management systems, engines, modular avionics architectures, cockpit displays, and weather radar — can be easily repurposed for military use," he continues. "Relationships between Western aerospace companies and the Chinese industrial base have not only transferred technology but also taught PRC firms the critical design, manufacturing, and certification know-how needed to develop China’s indigenous aircraft."

"While Safran’s ventures in China are commercial in nature, its work…directly supports entities that help advance the CCP’s military capabilities,” he concludes.

Read the full letter here.