Ahead of the busy Memorial Day travel weekend, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford launched a groundbreaking website highlighting the more than 10,000 air traffic control modernization projects that are happening across the nation. The site’s data will be updated monthly to ensure the flying public has an unprecedented level of transparency into how their tax dollars are being spent.
The website includes:
- A project summary – breaking down the key projects and explaining how air traffic control modernization will make our skies safer and more efficient.
- An interactive map – breaking down project locations by workstream and state.
- A local impact search engine – by entering, a city, state, airport code, ZIP code, or congressional district, any member of the public can generate a personalized report on what improvements have been completed and what’s coming in the next 30 days.
- A progress tracker – letting anyone capture a monthly status update on what work has been accomplished and what is left to do.
“One of the reasons past air traffic control modernization efforts failed was a lack of transparency. We’re taking a different approach – letting every American get a front row view of how President Trump is revolutionizing our skies,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “We’re forecasting 5.4 million flights from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend — 54,000 today alone. That surging demand underscores why the work we’re doing is so important. Ahead of a busy travel weekend, I hope every flyer checks our website as we work to build the safest and most technologically advanced air traffic control system in the world.”
“The FAA is undertaking the most significant transformation of America’s air traffic control system in generations, and we are committed to being transparent and accountable every step of the way,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “The American people deserve a clear view of how these investments are being executed and the progress being made to modernize our skies. Now, we’re sharing that directly with the flying public as we start the busy summer travel season.”
What we’re building: With an initial $12.5 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill, the FAA is replacing core infrastructure — radar, software, hardware, and telecommunications — at more than 4,600 sites nationwide to safely and efficiently manage modern travel.
That means: New radars, radios, surface surveillance systems, electronic flight strips, voice switches, and satellite, fiber optic cable, and wireless replacing old copper telecommunications lines.
By the numbers (end of 2028):
- 5,000 new high-speed network connections on fiber, wireless, and satellite
- 27,000 new radio
- 450 new digital voice switches
- 612 state-of-the-art radars
- 44 airports with replacement surface radars
- 200 airports with new Surface Awareness Initiative surveillance technology
- 89 airports with electronic flight strips
- 435 control towers with new Enterprise Information Display Systems
- 113 control towers with new Tower Simulation Systems
Progress to date: Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the FAA is moving at the speed of Trump. In just one year we have:
- Replaced 51% of all copper wires
- Converted 282 radio sites nationwide
- Installed 69 new Surface Awareness Initiative systems
- Transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips
- Installed 62 IP voice switches at control towers
Economic impact: In addition to delivering the world-class system that Americans deserve, this massive project is having a massive economic impact.
- We estimate this project will take more than 10 million labor hours or 1.5 million working days.
- We have employed 21 specialized labor categories, from welders to programmers.
- We are working with 52 vendors.
