A US-based military contractor, known for its Beechcraft, Bell, Cessna, and Hawker aircraft, some of which are used to monitor the US–Mexico border and by the Israeli military.
Textron Inc., headquartered in Providence, R.I., manufactures aircraft, military, and industrial products and is mostly known for its Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft, Hawker business jets, and Bell helicopters.
In 2023, 21% of the company’s total revenues was attributed to contracts with the U.S. government, including contracts under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Textron’s main U.S. government client is the Department of Defense (DOD), which accounted for the vast majority of its more than $15 billion worth of contracts between 2008 and July 2024.
US-Mexico Border Monitoring
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses Textron's Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft as part of its Air and Marine Operations (AMO) fleet. In 2023 alone, AMO’s enforcement resulted in 1,004 arrests and 89,909 apprehensions of immigrants.
The most advanced Textron-made aircraft that CBP uses is the Beechcraft King Air 360ER, which the agency calls the Multi-Role Enforcement Super King Air (MEA). These aircraft are equipped with "state-of-the-art sensor equipment for detection, tracking and surveillance operations," including day and night cameras that can follow vehicles and people from afar without being noticed. CBP uses these aircraft to conduct “aerial patrol, prisoner transport and surveillance.”
CBP first ordered the Multi-Role Enforcement Air in 2009 and has 29 in its AMO fleet as of March 2023. These aircraft are meant to eventually replace CBP's fleet of Beechcraft King Air 200 and C-12C aircraft, also made by Textron. These contracts are not held by Textron directly, but by private company Sierra Nevada Corporation, which customizes these Textron-made aircraft for CBP.
CBP's fleet also includes Textron Cessna C206H and T206H aircraft, which it uses for "surveillance, tracking and reconnaissance" in "large metropolitan and remote rural areas." The agency takes advantage of their appearance, which “blends effectively with the civil aviation fleet."
In addition to using its AMO fleet to patrol U.S. borders, CBP has used these aircraft to assist local police agencies, including with monitoring protests. Out of 92,800 hours of flight time logged by CBP's AMO in 2020, 8,000 hours were spent responding to requests for assistance from police agencies around the country.
In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security deployed helicopters, airplanes, and drones over at least 15 U.S. cities during protests over the murder of George Floyd. These aircraft logged at least 270 hours of surveillance. Specifically, a Textron-made CBP Cessna aircraft conducted almost 58 hours of surveillance of protestors in Buffalo, N.Y.
Targeting Palestinian Civilians
The Israeli Air Force 100 Squadron, which has supported Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza, uses Textron aircraft, including the Beechcraft King Air, Queen Air, RC12-D Guardrail, and Bonanza A-36, mostly for reconnaissance, freight, and training purposes. At least some of these aircraft were gifted to Israel through the U.S. government foreign military sales program.
These aircraft reconnaissance missions include participating in so-called "roof-knock" bombings, a warning method in which Israeli aircraft strike a residential building with relatively small missiles before blowing up the building with larger bombs. During Israel's 2014 large assault on Gaza, the Israeli Air Force 100 Squadron, which operates Beechcraft aircraft, was in charge of spotting people leaving buildings after “roof-knock” strikes. Both Amnesty International and a U.N. Human Rights Council independent commission of inquiry concluded that this method cannot be considered an "effective warning," as is required by International humanitarian law.
Until 2013, the Israeli Air Force also used Textron's Bell AH-1 Cobra as one of its main attack helicopters. Israel used these helicopters in all of its wars and major operations between the 1980s and 2013. During Israel’s 2008–2009 assault on Gaza, Human Rights Watch documented Cobra helicopters firing numerous TOW missiles at civilian targets. Israel phased out the use of Cobra helicopters in favor of Boeing’s Apache AH-64D helicopters and an increased reliance on a growing fleet of drones.