FAA unveils bold plan for “brand new air traffic control system”
May 9, 2025
US Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy has announced the FAA’s vision to build a “brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world,” promising to “replace core infrastructure including radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks to manage modern travel”.
An updated system is certainly sorely overdue. “Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age,” explained Duffy. “Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now”. Although separate elements have been allocated a timeline of between 2027 and 2028 for completion, no details have been forthcoming surrounding projected costs.
The action plan is comprised of four infrastructure components: communications, surveillance, automation and facilities. Additionally, the FAA has identified several “critical actions” to expedite. These include the installation of new fibre, wireless and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, the replacement of 618 radars “which have gone past their life cycle” and the installation of new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities “to create a common platform system throughout towers, TRACONs and centres”. Six new ATC centres will also be built, the first time this endeavour has been initiated since the 1960s.
“No more replacing floppy disks and other antiquated parts so old you can only find them on eBay,” wrote Duffy on social media, alongside video of him holding up the long-obsolete data storage devices. Specifically, these are used in the antiquated Information Display Systems (DS) that were deployed in the 1990s, using floppy discs and CDs. “Now, let’s get the money. Let’s get to work,” he concluded.
The FAA’s infrastructure plan is designed to complement ongoing initiatives to bolster the country’s air traffic controller workforce, with plans first announced in February set to streamline and incentivise hiring and retention.
