Honeywell Aerospace Inc. is an independent American manufacturer of aircraft engines, avionics, auxiliary power units (APUs), and other aviation systems. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, it operates as one of the world's largest standalone tier-1 aerospace and defense suppliers. The company generates approximately $15 billion in annual revenue from a balanced portfolio of commercial and military defense contracts.
History Originally a core division of the Honeywell International conglomerate, the business was spun off into an independent, publicly traded corporate entity effective June 29, 2026, following formal approval from the Honeywell Board of Directors on June 15, 2026. Following the structural separation, the remaining automation segments of the original parent company were renamed Honeywell Technologies. The company experienced a foundational manufacturing boom during World War II, when it equipped Allied bomber aircraft with specialized avionics and invented the modern electronic autopilot. After the war, it successfully shifted focus toward commercial aviation and peacetime applications. Today, Honeywell Aerospace produces advanced space exploration equipment, micro-electronic systems, turbine engines, braking systems, synthetic vision, runway safety infrastructure, and flight deck avionics. A Honeywell APU was instrumental in maintaining backup systems during the emergency river landing of US Airways Flight 1549, and a ruggedized Honeywell flight data recorder survived underwater for nearly two years to provide critical diagnostics for the investigation into Air France Flight 447. The company has historically contributed to nearly 90 percent of United States space missions, including design consulting for technical props in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It continues to be a core development partner in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen program and the European Union's SESAR modernization frameworks. In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded longtime Honeywell safety engineer Don Bateman the National Medal of Technology for his development of ground proximity warning systems which radically reduced controlled flight into terrain accidents. The company holds an extensive patent portfolio detailing flight windshield engineering, aerospace turbochargers, and satellite communications hardware, following the resolution of a notable historical 11-year patent dispute regarding ring laser gyroscope technology.
Business Honeywell Aerospace Technologies is responsible for over thirty percent of Honeywell's total revenue with half from commercial contracts and half from defense contracts. The division generates $15 billion in annual sales. In 2010, 75 percent of revenue was from the Americas. Honeywell expects future revenue sources to be more geographically diverse as aviation grows in emerging markets like India and Africa. In these regions, a lack of ground support encourages the use of additional cockpit avionics to prevent crashes and determine flight routes. Honeywell publishes a regular business aviation forecast, which acknowledged a significant decline from 2008 to 2010, but expected recovery to 2008 levels by 2017.
History
Corporate history Honeywell Aerospace Technologies began in 1914. Over nearly a century, through various acquisitions, mergers and name changes, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies combined legacy companies Sperry, Bendix, Garrett AiResearch, Pioneer, Lycoming, Grimes, King Radio and AlliedSignal. Garrett Corporation also acquired Aero Engineering Inc., Aero Sales Engineering, Ltd. and Air Cruisers Company in 1954. Following the death of its founder John Cliff Garrett in 1963, Garrett Corporation merged with Signal Oil & Gas Company to avoid a hostile takeover by Curtiss-Wright. In 1968, Signal Oil & Gas was renamed The Signal Companies. In 1982 Allied Corporation acquired Bendix Aerospace after coming in late in a protracted fight involving Bendix, Martin Marietta, and United Technologies. Originally, Bendix had tried to acquire Martin Marietta. Martin Marietta then bid for Bendix, and United Technologies entered the fray to help Martin Marietta. After the dust cleared, Allied Corporation was the apparent victor. In 1985 The Signal Companies merged with Allied Corporation forming Allied-Signal Inc. Allied-Signal (later renamed to Honeywell International in 1999) now includes [what was (in 1986) called] Honeywell Inc., and in 1986 Honeywell Inc. acquired Sperry Aerospace for $1.025 billion. Allied-Signal acquired the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division of Textron in 1994 and Grimes in 1997. Allied-Signal acquired Honeywell in 1999 and changed the name of the resulting company to Honeywell International.
Early history In the late 1930s Honeywell added temperature controls to moving vehicles like cars, trains and airplanes. This was more challenging than a traditional stationary furnace, because the temperature around a plane changes drastically as it climbs and descends. Honeywell provided the air conditioning system for America's first nuclear-powered submarine in 1954 and many Honeywell controls were used in the Manhattan Project. John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett founded Aircraft Tool and Supply Company in a one-room office in Los Angeles in 1936 to create specialized parts for aviation. From 1936 to 1938 the company grew from $3,503 to $21,540 in profit and raised an additional $31,500 in capital. In 1938 Cliff Garrett declared the company had hit a downturn, because many manufacturers they had previously sold products from had developed their own sales offices. In response, Cliff shifted focus to developing and manufacturing patented aviation products. In 1938 the company changed its name to Garrett Corporation. In 1939, Garrett formed Garrett AiResearch Manufacturing Co. to design, create and sell patented aviation products. The first invented product was an all-aluminum aircraft intercooler that was used to give Boeing B-17 bombers high-altitude abilities. Garrett also built Defense Plant Corporation in 1942.
World War II & defense
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