The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have announced plans to replace the country’s aging radar system, a move intended to improve safety and efficiency in air travel. The contracts for new radar systems were awarded to RTX and Indra as part of a broader air traffic control modernization initiative.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy stated, “While our air travel system is the safest in the world, most of our radars date back to the 1980s. It’s unacceptable. Thanks to President Trump and the One Big Beautiful Bill, we’ll begin replacing this outdated technology to boost safety and enable the next big wave of innovation in our skies.”
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford commented on the state of current equipment: “Our radar network is outdated and long overdue for replacement. Many of the units have exceeded their intended service life, making them increasingly expensive to maintain and difficult to support. We are buying radar systems that will bring production back to the U.S. and provide a vital surveillance backbone to the National Airspace System.”
The new contracts aim to replace up to 612 radars by June 2028 with modern, commercially available surveillance systems. The process will start this quarter, focusing first on high-traffic areas.
As part of these upgrades, FAA will also consolidate its current 14 different configurations within the National Airspace System (NAS), which is expected to streamline maintenance and logistics.
In December, Peraton was named as Prime Integrator for constructing the new air traffic control system and will collaborate with RTX and Indra on implementation efforts. To expedite progress toward having a new system operational by late 2028, DOT and FAA used an innovative federal procurement approach when selecting Peraton.
Peraton has already begun work with FAA on initial tasks such as upgrading from copper infrastructure to fiber optics, installing voice switches, and deploying surface awareness systems at airports nationwide.
These modernization efforts are being funded through legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
