The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Congress Wednesday it is expediting modernization of the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) systems, aiming to complete the overhaul by late 2028, and drawing skepticism from lawmakers over safety risks and staffing challenges.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told members of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee that he and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy decided to “scrap” a modernization plan they were presented with this summer in favor of a streamlined plan to modernize in the next two to three years.
“We took what was an existing 20-year FAA telecom modernization strategy that would complete in 2038, and we compressed that into three – two and a half years, to be honest,” Bedford said, noting the new approach adopts a “think slow, act fast mentality.”
While voicing support for the FAA’s modernization efforts, Subcommittee Ranking Member Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., expressed some skepticism about meeting the three-year timeline safely.
“[The timeline] is somewhat arbitrary and unrealistic, and I’m worried that it’s setting up any prime integrator to fail,” Duckworth said, adding that “it’s great that you’re putting this timeline in place, but you’re going to have to do the significant oversight to make sure that we’re not cutting corners … with an accelerated timeline.”
In a court filing Wednesday, the FAA took responsibility for a midair collision in January that killed 67 people, when an American Airlines passenger jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
That incident, along with other outages, prompted increased congressional attention on modernizing the nation’s aging FAA infrastructure – some of which dates back to the 1960s, according to Bedford – and quickly shoring up safety for the national air space (NAS).
Bedford also pointed to the workforce as critical to modernization and safety improvements – amid recent hiring challenges. He said that during the 43-day government shutdown, the agency lost up to 500 ATC trainees, despite keeping its training academy in Oklahoma City operational.
“So even though we kept the school open, I think the thought of not being paid was enough to frighten them away,” Bedford told Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., during questioning, adding though that trainees historically have a high “washout rate.”
In a report Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office said the FAA must improve its recruitment efforts by more consistently using “data to assess the results of its efforts and inform decision-making.” Doing so could help the agency better “understand the performance of its processes” and make changes that will have “the greatest effect on controller staffing.”
Despite hiring challenges, Bedford highlighted that the FAA’s number of certified trained controllers increased by 1,000 compared to last year. The agency has also identified opportunities to improve its curriculum to shorten the training period, which is currently two to three years.
Bedford also agreed to look into Duckworth’s suggestion that the FAA dedicate some of its billions in modernization funds to improve equipment at training facilities and increase the number of academies.
Congress’s July reconciliation bill provided a $12.5 billion down payment, $6-6.5 billion of which Bedford told lawmakers he expects will be earmarked and contracted for telecom, surveillance, and digitizing force communication modernization.
Earlier this month, the FAA selected Peraton as a prime integrator to lead the first phase of its modernization project. Specifically, Peraton will address critical vulnerabilities in NAS by replacing legacy equipment and facilities. The second phase will focus on designing and building new air route traffic control centers.
However, Bedford told senators that the FAA requires $20 billion more to modernize, saying the next set of funding will enable the FAA to “go completely from analog to digital infrastructure and elevate that compute power out of the facility into the cloud.”
In the next few weeks, Bedford said the FAA will likely award two contracts to replace up to 612 legacy surveillance radar systems.
On Wednesday, the House and Senate unanimously passed legislation to require aircraft operators to equip their fleets with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast – systems that provide more precise aircraft location data than traditional radar – by the end of 2031.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who co-led the ROTOR Act, noted the legislation will also work to improve NAS safety through enhanced federal oversight of mixed-use air traffic near commercial airports.