Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Unveils Plans for a ‘State-of-the-Art Air Traffic Control System’Hannah Knudsen 9 May 2025
The Department of Transportation, led by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, has unveiled plans for a new “state-of-the-art air traffic control system” which leaders believe will be the “envy of the world.”
Duffy made the point that the current infrastructure was put in place when Elvis was a star.
“Really really old. It all has to be new, state-of-the-art,” he said.
The plan involves the FAA replacing what the press release describes as “core infrastructure including radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks to manage modern travel.”
“We have a system that is built for the past, we are proposing a system built for the future,” it adds, focusing on four key components of infrastructure, which it identified as communications, surveillance, automation, and facilities.
The press release identified 6 “critical actions” that must take place, which are as follows:
* Replacing antiquated telecommunications with new fiber, wireless, and satellite technologies at over 4,600 sites, including 25,000 new radios and 475 new voice switches.
* Replacing 618 radars which have gone past their life cycle.
* Addressing runway safety by increasing the number of airports with Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) to 200.
* Building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s and replacing towers and TRACONs.
* Installing new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities to create a common platform system throughout towers, TRACONs, and centers.
* Addressing the specific challenges that face Alaska by adding 174 new weather stations.
Additionally, Duffy said they are going to focus on creating a pipeline of new air traffic controllers, as they have been 3,000 controllers short. However, he said this process takes time. The coronavirus era, he explained, largely affected the pipeline of new controllers coming in through the academy.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/05/09/transportation-secretary-sean-duffy-unveils-plans-for-a-state-of-the-art-air-traffic-control-system/
