Industria Aeronautică Română

Industria Aeronautică Română (IAR) (now IAR S.A. Brașov) or Romanian Aeronautic Industry in English, is a Romanian aerospace manufacturer. It is based in Ghimbav, near Brașov, Romania.

IAR was founded in 1925 with the aid of the Romanian government, which sought to reduce reliance on foreign companies to supply the Royal Romanian Air Force with aircraft and associated equipment. In addition to its designs, the company built numerous foreign-designed aircraft under license as well. IAR produced a low-wing all-metal monoplane, the IAR 80, during the Second World War; this combat aircraft was extensively used by the nation during the conflict. During the Cold War era, the company branched out into helicopters, securing licensing agreements with France for their designs in the field, leading to the IAR 316 and IAR 330. In 2000, IAR partnered with the multinational helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter Group to create the Eurocopter Romania joint venture company. Presently, the company employs around 1,200 specialists including more than 170 engineers; it carries out upgrades, revisions, and overhauls on helicopters and light aircraft.