FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., is set to introduce a bill to block China from continuing to infiltrate American airspace and aviation. Over the past 20 years, Chinese entities have been allowed to buy American general aviation companies, gaining backdoor access to aviation that feeds into military pilot training and the defense supply chain.
Harrigan’s General Aviation Protection (GAP) Act of 2026 would create a general aviation-focused restriction on China and other “countries of concern.” Congress could expand government authority to block, review, and monitor China’s involvement without restricting aviation.
“Walk into any regional airport in this country and you’ll see a Cirrus on the tarmac, sleek, American-made, flying the flag. What you won’t see is that the company building it has been owned by China’s state-controlled [Aviation Industry Corporation] AVIC since 2011, the same conglomerate that builds fighter jets and drones for the [People’s Liberation Army, a military wing of the Chinese Communist Party] PLA. And Cirrus isn’t the only one,” Harrigan told the Daily Signal.
“For two decades, Chinese entities have been quietly buying up American aviation companies, absorbing our engineers, our manufacturing know-how, and our FAA certifications the whole time, and Washington never built a system to catch it. This bill is that system,” Harrigan continued.
The GAP Act would prohibit any sale of an aviation company if it is linked to a government-linked foreign adversary entity, such as the Chinese Communist Party.
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It would also mandate a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of any investment in general aviation by a country of concern, which the United States has deemed to include China.
Specifically, the review would cover aircraft, engine, and helicopter manufacturers; avionics companies; and certain FAA-certified flight schools near military bases.
The review would identify any Chinese military-civil fusion, military applications of the technology, or training programs involving foreign nationals.
The bill also requires a federal review of aviation real estate, including general aviation airports, fixed-base operators, flight schools, maintenance facilities, and hangars, with heightened scrutiny if they are near military bases.
Harrigan is a combat-decorated Green Beret veteran who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
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