U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford have named Peraton, a technology and national security company, to lead the multi-billion-dollar revamp of the U.S.’s air traffic control system, which was assigned an initial funding of $12.5 billion in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
“We are thrilled to be working with Peraton because they share President Trump’s drive to modernize our skies safely at record speed,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy in a statement on December 4. “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.”
“We are taking bold action to ensure our air traffic system is the envy of the world,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, adding that the project, which is slated to be completed in 3 years, would need another $20 billion to complete.
The DOT said the air traffic control system is safe, but the equipment is old, slowing flight traffic to maintain safety when equipment failures occur. The FAA is experiencing significantly more equipment issues today than in the past, the DOT said. The new system will provide new and more reliable systems that will reduce equipment-related delays throughout the National Airspace System (NAS).
The project includes replacing core infrastructure including telecommunications networks, radar, software and hardware to support modern air travel. The DOT says work will begin immediately.
