Keaton PetersFederal officials are planning an overhaul of air traffic control. The U.S. Department of Transportation is embarking on an ambitious effort. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently unveiled the initiative to redesign the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure within four years, describing it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
Although Duffy did not cite any specific cost estimate, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has projected it could cost $12.5 billion, while the private trade group Modern Skies Coalition has estimated the price tag could be as high as $18.5 billion.
The modernization effort comes as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) struggles with an increasingly outdated network of systems. In particular, the National Airspace System (NAS) is showing its age. In January 2023, a failure in the Notice to Air Missions system caused the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11. More recently, a January 2025 midair collision near Reagan National Airport—the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001—and disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport have underscored the urgency for modernization.
While FAA officials say the NAS remains safe, they also warn that maintaining that safety will increasingly come at the expense of efficiency. The situation is challenging as commercial air travel exceeds pre-COVID-19 levels and new entrants, including drones and commercial space operations, place additional demands on the system.
For approximately 15 years, annual appropriation to the FAA’s Facilities and Equipment account has remained flat at about $3 billion. This stagnant funding has caused the agency to lose roughly $1 billion in purchasing power due to inflation.
The new plan creates a separate budget account specifically for these capital needs, bringing greater transparency to modernization costs. The FAA will accelerate the transition from obsolete 1960s technology to Internet Protocol on its telecommunications infrastructure. The plan includes replacing over 25,000 radios and 475 voice switches with modern equipment.
The initiative will replace 618 airborne radar systems that currently exist in 12 different configurations. The modernization will reduce these to, at most, two configurations. Additionally, the Surface Awareness Initiative will be deployed to 200 more airports beyond the 44 most complex ones that already have surface surveillance tools.
Critical automation updates include modernizing the Traffic Flow Management System and implementing the Terminal Flight Data Manager at 89 airports to replace paper flight strips with electronic versions. The FAA will also develop a common automation platform to replace the disparate terminal and en route systems currently in use.
The plan will increase the pace of tower replacements from one per year to 4-5 annually, reducing the full replacement timeline from 300 years to about 80 years. It also includes planning for replacing the FAA’s 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which average 61 years old.
The plan includes specific provisions for Alaska, where 82% of communities lack road access and rely heavily on aviation. The Alaska Automation Capability will modernize aging systems and the initiative will add 174 new weather stations.
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