AAR CORP.

AAR is a Chicago-area aviation services company that has been trading since 1955 and now runs at roughly 2.8 billion dollars of annual revenue with around 8,000 staff in more than 20 countries. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under AIR. Its self-description is the largest aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul provider in North America, and the business has three real engines plus a shrinking legacy tail.

Parts Supply is the distribution arm. AAR sells new parts under distribution agreements with original equipment manufacturers and trades used serviceable material recovered from retired aircraft and engines, across both commercial and government platforms. This is the part of the business that gives it visibility into aftermarket pricing and availability, and it is the natural feeder for the repair side.

Repair, Engineering and Software covers heavy airframe maintenance and component work. AAR runs airframe MRO hangars in the United States and Canada, component repair shops including landing gear, and an engineering group that develops repairs and modifications. Software has become a distinct piece of this rather than a bolt-on: Trax is a cloud-hosted maintenance ERP with mobile applications, Aerostrat automates heavy maintenance scheduling and capacity planning independently of whichever ERP an operator uses, Airvoyant applies automation to procurement and sourcing for airlines and MROs, and Airinmar handles component repair cycle and warranty management.

Government Solutions is where the defense work sits. It supplies parts to government operators, runs performance-based supply chain and maintenance programs on the argument that commercial practices can be brought to bear on military fleets, and includes the Mobility Systems business. Mobility Systems designs, integrates and modifies transportable equipment, most visibly the ISU container family along with mobile shelters and pallets, and it sells to all four US military services as well as federal civilian agencies. AAR describes government support work spanning five continents.

The fourth reporting line, Legacy Commercial Programs, holds wind-down commercial activity rather than new business, and is not where the company is investing.

Recent government awards give a sense of scale and mix. In March 2025 AAR Government Services took a delivery order worth up to 59.5 million dollars for Landing Gear Performance Based Logistics from the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base. In September 2025 the company was awarded an indefinite delivery contract by Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support for mobility solutions, an 85 million dollar ceiling arrangement covering specialized shipping and storage containers, shelters and accessories for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and civilian agencies.

The positioning worth understanding is that AAR is not a platform prime and does not want to be. It sits in the aftermarket, between manufacturers and operators, and the same distribution network, repair shops and inventory systems that support an airline also support a government fleet. That dual-use structure is why it appears in defense supply chains at all, and it is also why its defense exposure is concentrated in sustainment rather than development. Operations include facilities in Amsterdam, Greensboro, Lake City, Thailand, Trois-Rivieres, Windsor and the United Kingdom.