NPR Topics: News | 'We can do better,' FAA head says of work to update U.S. analog air traffic system by Bill Chappell

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The FAA’s new administrator, Bryan Bedford, told a Modern Skies Summit that the United States still relies on an outdated, analog air‑traffic system and that “we can do better.” He and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined a $12.5 billion modernization effort—later dubbed the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS)—that will replace aging radar, radio and copper‑wire infrastructure with fiber‑optic networks, upgrade thousands of radio and radar stations, and incorporate modern software and artificial‑intelligence tools to prevent conflicts, delays and cancellations. The plan also calls for hiring thousands of additional controllers to address staffing shortfalls, with the goal of improving safety, cutting fuel use and overall costs, and keeping the project on schedule for completion by 2028, while urging Congress to provide the necessary additional funding.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/22/nx-s1-5791744/faa-dot-air-traffic-control-system-revamp

#FAA #BryanBedford #ModernSkiesSummit #BNATCS #airtraffic #SeanDuffy

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