1 of 2 | The Department of Transportation announced it has selected a company to oversee upgrades to the federal air traffic control system and keep it on an ambitious three-year timetable. Photo by Caroline Brehman/EPA
Dec. 5 (UPI) — The Department of Transportation announced it selected an integrator to manage upgrades to the U.S. air traffic control system, which in recent years has seen failures and outages that could endanger lives.
The DOT and Federal Aviation Administration chose the national security and IT company Peraton to oversee upgrades to outdated infrastructure across the United States, including radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks in an effort to enhance safety and reduce delays.
Department officials said the company was chosen for its expertise in integrating complex tech platforms. Its history of working with various U.S. government agencies and all branches of the military means the company can meet DOT’s “ambitious” three-year timeline, they said.
“Working together, we are going to build on the incredible progress we’ve already made and deliver a state-of-the-art air traffic control system that the American traveling public — and our hard-working air traffic controllers — deserve,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press release.
Former President Joe Biden in May 2024 signed a $105 billion bipartisan bill to improve aviation safety, invest in airport infrastructure and modernize FAA air traffic control technologies and systems.
Issues with the air traffic control system this year — from radars shutting off and staffing issues to outdated communications systems failing — spurred new, faster action by the Trump administration to get the issues fixed.
President Donald Trump‘s “Big Beautiful Bill” that was signed into law earlier this year included $12.5 billion to get the air traffic control system upgrades moving, starting with the FAA hosting two industry days in May to start the search for contractors.
At the time, Duffy noted that the FAA previously received “small tranches of money, not full funding … we need the money up front so we can contract out and build this brand new system.”
The funding already delivered through the bill was referred to as a “down payment” to start the modernization, but FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that to finish what is a “long-term investment,” the full effort will likely require another $20 billion to be sure the administration is “getting it right.”
DOT has set a deadline of 2028 for the new system to be in place, which it said prompted the use of a first-of-its-kind federal contract to select an integrator, Peraton, whose role will be to provide centralized leadership for the entire project to keep it on track and on time.
Peraton is expected to start work immediately, according to the department, to continue transitioning the system’s remaining copper infrastructure and to establish a new digital command center for the FAA.
The next plans, the department said, is to buy and install new radar systems and develop next-generation air traffic control facilities.
“The United States government has entrusted Peraton with a historic opportunity to fundamentally transform America’s air traffic control system, which will modernize our national airspace to ensure it remains the safest, most efficient and most advanced in the world,” Steve Schorer, chairman, president and CEO of Peraton, said in a statement.
