WASHINGTON — The United States still relies on what FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford described as an “analog national airspace system,” and agency officials say a comprehensive digital upgrade is needed.
Speaking at the Department of Transportation’s Modern Skies Summit, Bedford criticized current traffic-management tools as “glorified calculators” and said “we can do better.” He and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined progress on the administration’s Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS), an effort to replace aging equipment and procedures with modern software, communications and automation.
Congress approved $12.5 billion last summer to kick-start the work, most of it earmarked for new equipment and hiring more controllers. Duffy urged lawmakers to provide additional funding and said the administration is committed to delivering the overhaul “on time, on budget.” Both he and Bedford emphasized that the current system remains safe but is slow, inefficient and vulnerable to cascading problems when failures occur.
Planned upgrades would move operations away from legacy radar, radio networks and paper-based processes toward digital systems. Projects include replacing copper wiring with fiber-optic lines and modernizing hundreds of radio and radar sites. Duffy put the program’s scale at roughly 10 million labor hours across about 4,600 locations with some 50 vendors involved, and said the timeline is on track to finish by the end of President Trump’s term in 2028.
Duffy also acknowledged the overhaul may incorporate artificial intelligence in certain roles; he said the Department of Transportation is in talks with three AI companies but did not identify them. He pointed to incidents, such as repeated disconnects between pilots and controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport last year, as examples that the system needs upgrades.
Bedford said a redesigned network could lower costs industrywide by better sequencing flights to avoid conflicts, delays and cancellations. He predicted shorter block times, less fuel burn and reduced ground time, suggesting coast-to-coast trips could become faster.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels welcomed the technology as a “force multiplier,” saying automation would let controllers concentrate on the most critical tasks rather than routine work. The FAA also plans to recruit thousands more controllers; a January Government Accountability Office report found FAA hiring and certification have not kept pace with growth in air travel.
Duffy conceded that past federal modernization efforts have cost billions, but pledged accountability and emphasized the current administration’s commitment to complete the job. “The Congress should have faith in this DOT and this FAA, because we are building and we’re building now. We’re delivering on the promises that we’ve made,” he said.
NPR’s Joel Rose contributed reporting.