Aircraft Manufacturers of the World: A Guide by Type and Country (2026)

Two companies build almost every large airliner in the world, but the full list of aircraft manufacturers is far longer. Airbus and Boeing share the market for jets with more than 150 seats. Below them sit a regional jet maker in Brazil, a turboprop joint venture in France, a state-owned airliner programme in China, about a dozen business jet builders, dozens of light aircraft and helicopter makers, the military aircraft divisions of the big defence groups, and a new generation of electric aircraft developers, some of which have already gone out of business.

This guide lists the aircraft manufacturers that matter in 2026, grouped by what they build and then by country. Each entry gives the company's base, its main aircraft and a link to its page in our directory where we have one. Facts are taken from the companies' own sites and public records as of October 2026; where a programme is cancelled, paused or sanctioned we say so.

How many aircraft manufacturers are there? There is no official register. Counted as companies that build type-certified aircraft in series today, the list runs to a few dozen worldwide. Counted with kit aircraft, ultralight, glider and drone makers, it runs into the hundreds. The sections below cover the first group and the best-known names in the second.

Aircraft manufacturers at a glance

Segment	Main manufacturers	Countries
Large airliners (150+ seats)	Airbus, Boeing, COMAC	France, United States, China
Regional jets and turboprops	Embraer, ATR, De Havilland Canada, COMAC, Yakovlev (UAC)	Brazil, France/Italy, Canada, China, Russia
Business jets	Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Textron Aviation, Embraer, Honda Aircraft, Pilatus, Cirrus	United States, Canada, France, Brazil, Switzerland
General aviation and turboprops	Textron Aviation, Piper, Cirrus, Diamond, Pilatus, Daher, Tecnam, Pipistrel, Extra and others	United States, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Czech Republic
Helicopters	Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo, Bell, Sikorsky, Robinson, MD Helicopters, Enstrom, Kaman	France, Italy, United States
Military aircraft	Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Dassault, Saab, Leonardo, Airbus Defence and Space, KAI, Turkish Aerospace, HAL, AVIC, UAC, Embraer	United States, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Italy, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, India, China, Russia, Brazil
eVTOL and electric aircraft	Joby, Archer, Beta, Wisk, Vertical Aerospace, EHang, Volocopter, Eve, Heart Aerospace	United States, United Kingdom, China, Germany, Brazil

Commercial airliner manufacturers

Airbus (Blagnac, near Toulouse, France) builds the A220, A320neo family, A330neo and A350, and delivers more airliners a year than any other company. Final assembly lines run in Toulouse, Hamburg, Tianjin, Mobile (Alabama) and Mirabel (Quebec). The group also owns Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Defence and Space.

Boeing (Arlington, Virginia, United States) builds the 737 MAX, 767, 777 and 787, with the 777X still in certification. Commercial aircraft are assembled in Renton and Everett, Washington, and North Charleston, South Carolina. Boeing's defence side builds the F-15EX, F/A-18, KC-46, P-8 and T-7A.

COMAC (Shanghai, China) is the state-owned maker of the C919 narrow-body, in airline service since May 2023, and the C909 regional jet (renamed from ARJ21 in November 2024). A wide-body, the C929, is planned for around 2030. Both current types still rely on Western engines and systems.

Embraer (São José dos Campos, Brazil) is the third largest maker of commercial jets by deliveries. Its E-Jet E2 family (E190-E2 and E195-E2) covers about 100 to 146 seats; the smaller E175-E2 is on hold. Embraer also builds Phenom and Praetor business jets and, through Embraer Defense & Security, the C-390 Millennium transport and A-29 Super Tucano.

ATR (Blagnac, France) is a joint venture of Airbus and Leonardo and builds the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600 regional turboprops, the most widely used aircraft in that class.

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (Calgary, Alberta) owns the type certificates for the Dash 8 and DHC-6 Twin Otter. It is building the Twin Otter again and developing the DHC-515 Firefighter; new Dash 8-400 production has been paused since 2021.

In Russia, United Aircraft Corporation (Moscow) groups Yakovlev (the former Irkut), Sukhoi, MiG, Tupolev and Ilyushin. Yakovlev is working to certify the MC-21 narrow-body with Russian PD-14 engines and the SJ-100 regional jet with PD-8 engines; both programmes have been delayed by sanctions, neither was in airline service at the time of writing, and Rostec now expects first deliveries in 2027. UAC and its subsidiaries are under US and EU sanctions.

Antonov (Kyiv, Ukraine) designed the An-124 and An-225 heavy transports and the An-148/158 and An-178; it has built very few new aircraft since 2014; it operates its own An-124 fleet and is working to restart An-178 production without Russian parts. Mitsubishi Aircraft (Japan) cancelled its SpaceJet regional jet in February 2023 after 15 years of development.

Business jet manufacturers

Gulfstream Aerospace (Savannah, Georgia, United States), part of General Dynamics, builds the G400, G500, G600, G650ER, G700 and G800 large-cabin jets. The G700 and G800 are its newest types, certified in 2024 and 2025.

Bombardier (Dorval, Quebec, Canada) builds the Challenger 350/3500 and Challenger 650 and the Global 5500, 6500, 7500 and 8000. The Global 8000 entered service in December 2025. Bombardier sold its airliner programmes (CRJ to Mitsubishi, C Series to Airbus as the A220) and ended Learjet production in 2022.

Dassault Aviation (Saint-Cloud, France) builds the Falcon 2000, 900LX, 6X and 8X business jets and the Rafale fighter. The Falcon 10X, its largest jet, is in development.

Cessna and Beechcraft are brands of Textron Aviation (Wichita, Kansas, United States). The Citation line runs from the M2 and CJ3/CJ4 light jets to the Latitude, Longitude and Ascend; Beechcraft builds the King Air turboprops and Bonanza and Baron pistons, and is in the final phase of certification flight testing for the Denali single-engine turboprop, with deliveries expected in 2027.

Embraer's executive jet division builds the Phenom 100EX and 300E and the Praetor 500 and 600 in Brazil and Melbourne, Florida. Honda Aircraft Company (Greensboro, North Carolina) builds the HondaJet Elite II and is developing the larger HondaJet Echelon, with first flight planned for 2028 and certification for 2031.

Pilatus Aircraft (Stans, Switzerland) builds the PC-24 light jet alongside the PC-12 single-engine turboprop and PC-21 military trainer. Cirrus Aircraft (Duluth, Minnesota) builds the single-engine Vision Jet SF50, one of the most delivered business jets by units in recent years, next to its SR20 and SR22 pistons; Cirrus is owned by China's AVIC.

General aviation and light aircraft manufacturers

This is the largest group by number of companies. The best known, by country:

United States. Textron Aviation (Cessna 172, 182, 206 and Caravan; Beechcraft Bonanza and Baron). Piper Aircraft (Vero Beach, Florida): Archer, Seminole and Seneca trainers and the M350, M500, M600 and M700 Fury turboprop singles. Cirrus (SR20, SR22, SR22T). Mooney (Kerrville, Texas) has not built new M20 aircraft since 2019 and now supports the existing fleet. Daher's Kodiak 100 and 900 utility turboprops are built in Sandpoint, Idaho. CubCrafters (Yakima, Washington) builds the Carbon Cub and XCub backcountry aircraft. ICON Aircraft stopped building the A5 amphibian after a 2024 bankruptcy and plans to restart production in 2027. Epic Aircraft (Bend, Oregon) builds the E1000 AX turboprop. Kit makers include Van's Aircraft (RV series), Sonex and Zenith.

Austria. Diamond Aircraft (Wiener Neustadt) builds the DA40, DA42, DA50 RG and DA62, most with its own Austro Engine diesels, and is a major supplier of trainers to flight schools. Diamond is owned by China's Wanfeng group, which also bought Volocopter in 2025.

Switzerland. Pilatus (Stans): PC-12 NGX and PC-24, plus the PC-7 MKX and PC-21 trainers.

France. Daher builds the TBM 910 and TBM 960 turboprops in Tarbes. Robin Aircraft (Dijon-Darois) builds the DR400 family. Elixir Aircraft (La Rochelle) builds a composite two-seat trainer.

Italy. Tecnam (Capua) builds the P2008, P2010, P-Mentor and P2006T trainers and the 11-seat P2012 Traveller. Blackshape (Monopoli) builds carbon-fibre two-seaters.

Germany. Extra Aircraft (Hünxe) builds the Extra 330 and NG aerobatic aircraft. Flight Design builds the CT series light-sport aircraft. AutoGyro (Hildesheim) is the largest gyroplane maker. Junkers Aircraft builds modern versions of historic Junkers designs.

Czech Republic. BRM Aero (Bristell series), Evektor (EV-97 and SportStar) and Aircraft Industries (L 410 twin turboprop) make the country one of Europe's main light aircraft producers. Aero Vodochody builds the L-39NG jet trainer.

Slovenia. Pipistrel (Ajdovščina), owned by Textron since 2022, builds the Velis Electro, the first type-certified electric aircraft (EASA, 2020), plus the Virus, Alpha Trainer and Panthera.

Hungary. Magnus Aircraft builds the Fusion two-seat trainer.

Australia. Jabiru (Bundaberg) builds light aircraft and its own piston engines. GippsAero builds the GA8 Airvan.

Helicopter manufacturers

Airbus Helicopters (Marignane, France) is the largest civil helicopter maker. Its range runs from the H125 and H130 singles through the H135, H145 and H160 to the H175 and H225, with the NH90 and Tiger for military customers.

Leonardo Helicopters (Cascina Costa, Italy, with plants in Yeovil, England and Philadelphia) builds the AW109, AW139, AW169, AW189 and AW101, and the AW609 tiltrotor. It is a division of Leonardo S.p.A. (Rome).

Bell Textron (Fort Worth, Texas) builds the 407, 429 and 505 civil helicopters, is certifying the fly-by-wire 525, builds, the V-22 Osprey with Boeing, and is developing the MV-75 tiltrotor for the US Army.

Sikorsky (Stratford, Connecticut), part of Lockheed Martin, builds the UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-53K King Stallion and the S-92 civil helicopter; S-76 production ended in 2022.

Robinson Helicopter Company (Torrance, California) builds the R22, R44 and R66, the most produced civil helicopters by units. MD Helicopters (Mesa, Arizona) builds the MD 500 and 530 series. Enstrom (Menominee, Michigan) restarted production of its 480B and piston models in 2023 under new owner Surack Enterprises. Kaman (Bloomfield, Connecticut) ended production of the K-MAX in 2023.

Outside the West, Russian Helicopters (Mil and Kamov designs) is under sanctions, HAL builds the Dhruv, Prachand and Light Utility Helicopter in India, and KAI builds the KUH-1 Surion in South Korea.

Military aircraft manufacturers

United States. Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Maryland) builds the F-35 Lightning II, F-16 and C-130J. Boeing builds the F-15EX, F/A-18E/F, KC-46A, P-8A and T-7A, and is developing the F-47 for the US Air Force. Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, Virginia) builds the B-21 Raider, E-2D Hawkeye and MQ-4C Triton. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (Poway, California) builds the MQ-9 Reaper family. Kratos builds the XQ-58 Valkyrie and target drones. Textron Aviation Defense builds the T-6 Texan II trainer.

Europe. BAE Systems (London) builds the Eurofighter Typhoon with Airbus Defence and Space (Germany and Spain) and Leonardo, builds the Hawk trainer, and leads the UK's part of the GCAP sixth-generation fighter with Italy and Japan. Airbus Defence and Space also builds the A400M transport and the A330 MRTT tanker. Dassault Aviation builds the Rafale. Saab (Stockholm, aircraft built in Linköping) builds the Gripen E/F and GlobalEye. Leonardo builds the M-346 trainer and C-27J transport in Italy. Aero Vodochody (Czech Republic) builds the L-39NG.

Asia. Korea Aerospace Industries (Sacheon) builds the T-50 and FA-50 and is bringing the KF-21 Boramae fighter into production. Turkish Aerospace (Ankara) builds the Hürkuş trainer, Anka drones and T129 ATAK helicopter and is flight-testing the KAAN fighter and Hürjet trainer. HAL (Bengaluru) builds the Tejas fighter and HTT-40 trainer. In China, AVIC (Beijing) owns Chengdu (J-10, J-20), Shenyang (J-15, J-16, J-35) and Xi'an (Y-20 transport, H-6 bomber). Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (Kamra) assembles the JF-17 with Chengdu. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki and Subaru build aircraft and helicopters for the Japanese forces, largely under licence.

Israel and others. Israel Aerospace Industries (Lod) builds the Heron drones and converts airliners to freighters and tankers. Elbit Systems (Haifa) builds the Hermes drones. Embraer Defense & Security builds the C-390 Millennium and A-29 Super Tucano. Sukhoi (Su-30, Su-35, Su-57) and MiG are part of UAC and under sanctions.

eVTOL and electric aircraft developers

None of the passenger eVTOL developers in the United States or Europe had a certified aircraft at the time of writing, and several have failed, so treat this group differently from the manufacturers above.

Joby Aviation (Santa Cruz, California) builds the four-passenger S4 in Marina, California, with component production and a second plant in Dayton, Ohio, with Toyota as its main industrial partner. Archer Aviation (San Jose, California) builds the Midnight at a plant in Covington, Georgia. Beta Technologies (Burlington, Vermont) builds the Alia in both conventional and vertical take-off versions and sells its own electric motors and chargers. Wisk Aero, owned by Boeing, is developing an autonomous four-seat air taxi.

Vertical Aerospace (Bristol, England) flew its VX4 through a piloted transition from hover to wing-borne flight in April 2026 and targets commercial flights in 2028. EHang (Guangzhou, China) holds a Chinese type certificate for its two-seat, pilotless EH216-S, granted in 2023, and is the only company on this list already carrying paying passengers. Volocopter (Bruchsal, Germany) went into insolvency in December 2024 and was bought by Wanfeng in March 2025. Lilium (Germany) ceased operations in December 2024 and filed for insolvency again in February 2025. Eve Air Mobility (Embraer) is developing a four-passenger eVTOL, now planned to enter service in 2028. Hyundai's Supernal cut about 80% of its staff in February 2026.

Fixed-wing electric and hybrid projects: Heart Aerospace flew its X1 demonstrator for the 30-seat ES-30 at Plattsburgh, New York, in August 2026. Eviation (Alice) laid off most of its staff in February 2025. Pipistrel's Velis Electro remains the only certified electric aircraft in series production. ZeroAvia, magniX and H55 make electric and hydrogen-electric powertrains rather than aircraft; see our guide to aircraft engine manufacturers.

Aircraft manufacturers by country

Country	Manufacturers
United States	Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Gulfstream, Textron Aviation (Cessna, Beechcraft), Piper, Cirrus, Honda Aircraft, Bell, Sikorsky, Robinson, MD Helicopters, Enstrom, Kaman, General Atomics, Kratos, Mooney, CubCrafters, Epic, ICON, Van's, Joby, Archer, Beta, Wisk
France	Airbus, Airbus Helicopters, ATR, Dassault Aviation, Daher, Robin, Elixir
Canada	Bombardier, De Havilland Canada, Viking Air
Brazil	Embraer, Embraer Defense & Security, Eve Air Mobility
United Kingdom	BAE Systems, Leonardo Helicopters (Yeovil), Britten-Norman, Vertical Aerospace
Germany	Airbus (Hamburg), Airbus Defence and Space, Extra, Flight Design, AutoGyro, Junkers, Volocopter, Lilium (insolvent)
Italy	Leonardo, Leonardo Helicopters, Tecnam, Blackshape, Piaggio Aerospace
China	COMAC, AVIC (Chengdu, Shenyang, Xi'an, Harbin), EHang, AutoFlight
Russia	United Aircraft Corporation (Yakovlev, Irkut, Sukhoi, MiG, Tupolev, Ilyushin), Russian Helicopters; all under sanctions
Switzerland	Pilatus, H55 (propulsion)
Austria	Diamond Aircraft
Sweden	Saab
Czech Republic	Aero Vodochody, Aircraft Industries, BRM Aero, Evektor
Slovenia	Pipistrel
Spain	Airbus Defence and Space (Seville, Getafe)
Japan	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki, Subaru, ShinMaywa
South Korea	Korea Aerospace Industries
Turkey	Turkish Aerospace, Baykar
India	Hindustan Aeronautics, Tata Advanced Systems
Israel	Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems
Ukraine	Antonov
Australia	Jabiru, GippsAero
Pakistan	Pakistan Aeronautical Complex

All manufacturers with a page on this site are listed under aircraft manufacturers; parts, systems and engine makers are under manufacturers.

Questions people ask about aircraft manufacturers

Who are the five largest aircraft manufacturers?

By revenue, the largest aerospace groups that build aircraft are Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics (owner of Gulfstream) and Northrop Grumman; the order between them changes from year to year. By number of commercial aircraft delivered, Airbus and Boeing are far ahead, followed by Embraer, then ATR and COMAC.

Which country makes the most aircraft?

The United States, by a wide margin, because it is home to Boeing, the largest business jet makers and almost all of the big general aviation producers. France is second, thanks to Airbus, ATR, Dassault and Airbus Helicopters.

Why are there only two makers of large airliners?

Developing a new airliner costs tens of billions of dollars, takes a decade and needs a global support network. Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, Fokker and others left the market or merged; Bombardier handed its C Series to Airbus; Mitsubishi cancelled the SpaceJet. COMAC is the only new entrant with aircraft in service, and only inside China so far.

Are there new aircraft manufacturers in 2026?

Yes, mostly in electric aviation. Joby, Archer, Beta and Vertical Aerospace are in flight testing with certification authorities. EHang is carrying passengers in China. In conventional aircraft, the newest certified types come from established companies: the Gulfstream G800, Bombardier Global 8000 and Cirrus Vision Jet are all from firms founded decades ago.

Which manufacturer is best for a private jet?

It depends on range and cabin size. Light jets: Cessna Citation, Embraer Phenom, HondaJet, Pilatus PC-24. Midsize: Citation Latitude and Longitude, Praetor, Challenger 3500. Large cabin and long range: Gulfstream, Bombardier Global and Dassault Falcon. Our guide to private jet prices compares current models.

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