The air traffic control system in the United States is no longer suitable for the high traffic volumes of today. Flight delays are common, and air traffic control issues often restrict airport capacity, leading to cancellations. This has made it difficult for airlines to operate reliably, especially smaller carriers that are concentrated in specific areas of the country, such as JetBlue.

Adverse weather can cause chaos, and air traffic control towers are so leanly staffed at many airports that a sick call can severely impact operations. The issues with America’s air traffic control system are extensive and systemic, but the United States government is announcing that it may have finally begun solving one of the problems. The equipment that air traffic controllers use is often decades old and, as such, is far outdated.

However, US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford have decided that it’s time for a change. Specifically, they have awarded a multi-billion-dollar contract to Peraton to lead a project to modernize ATC equipment across the country, and it’s claimed that the project will be completed in only three years.

The New ATC Modernization Contract

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The United States DOT and FAA have awarded an up to $32.5 billion contract to Peraton to serve as the ‘Prime Integrator’ for the largest aviation infrastructure project in decades. The company was paid $12.5 billion as a down payment, using funds allocated in President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ while the rest of the funds will require Congressional approval. Rather confidently, Duffy stated that the project will be completed by the end of 2028.

The contract is structured to reward Peraton for “good performance,” while penalizing delays, in what’s been described as a “first of its kind” contract. As the prime integrator, Peraton will serve as a general contractor to lead the modernization project. The FAA first issued a request for solutions in August 2025, and proposals were submitted by Parsons Corporation as well as IBM before Peraton was selected.

The firm was chosen in part due to its expertise with complex technology platform integration and prior successful collaborations with government agencies. The timeline, which lines up with the end of President Trump’s term, is certainly ambitious, but the FAA and DOT appear assured that the company is up to the task. Simple Flying spoke with retired air traffic controller James Gillman, who said:

“Peraton may be the breakthrough needed to finally get the connectivity and modernization that we’ve talked of for many, many decades. Now that the technology exists. Let’s make an effort to take advantage of it.”

Why Is This Project Important?

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The FAA has published a fact sheet that states that 2025 saw three times as many flight delay minutes due to ATC equipment problems as the yearly average between 2010 and 2024. This led to some notable incidents, including numerous blackouts that occurred at the Philadelphia TRACON facility for controllers overseeing operations in and out of Newark earlier. It was determined that this was due to ageing copper wires, which are used throughout the US, that malfunctioned.

Elsewhere, radars, radios, displays, as well as software, were developed decades ago, and the FAA’s plans for a ‘Brand New Air Traffic Control System’ call for all of these and more to be replaced. With modernized equipment, air traffic control-related delays will be reduced, and airports may also be able to increase capacity. Given that flight delays are more problematic than ever, this project will be critical to ensuring the reliability and safety of American skies.

Not only will this new project modernize existing equipment, but the DOT and FAA are also looking to expand ATC capabilities while improving efficiency. The agencies are looking to shift towards Internet Protocol networks, while also adding a new consolidated Air Route Traffic Control Center and a new consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control facility. In addition, the project will notably add new weather stations in Alaska as well as new weather camera sites.

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Peraton’s Role In The Project

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Peraton is a privately held Virginia-based company focusing on national security and technology. As the prime integrator for the ATC modernization project, the company will essentially oversee all of the program’s planning and operations. Typically, it’s the FAA that would act as a supervising party for such endeavors, and it’s unique in the US aviation industry for a private firm to be assigned this task instead. An executive committee of DOT and FAA officials will evaluate its performance.

While Peraton will serve as the project’s supervisor, the FAA has already begun working on some modernization efforts. Mainly, after the blackouts affecting Newark’s operations, it has replaced over one-third of the country’s copper wires with new high-speed digital fiber. In the long term, Peraton will serve a critical role due to the size of the United States and the fact that most of the work is intended to be performed simultaneously.

While Secretary Duffy has expressed confidence in Peraton’s ability to meet deadlines, there is also some lingering skepticism about whether the 2028 timeline will stick. Simple Flying spoke with retired air traffic controller Steve Meitz regarding whether the program will remain on time, and he stated that:

“I hope to live long enough to see this come to fruition. Three years is a pipe dream. The FAA’s track record is far from stellar, just look up Sector Suites.”

Challenges Ahead For The Project

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The US has an enormous air traffic control system. This means that many more facilities need to be updated than in smaller nations such as those in Europe. Government programs are rarely completed on time or on budget, with cost overruns practically an expectation in many aviation-related projects. Although a private company will be leading the efforts, this will see input from federal agencies, and delays, especially funding-related delays, can set the project back even further.

While $12.5 billion in funds have already been secured for this project, Congressional approval will be required for further funds, which are quoted at roughly $20 billion. Congress will need to evaluate Peraton’s performance on the project to approve further funding, and this stage could lead to significant delays. Peraton will also need to coordinate with a wide variety of suppliers and partners to perform the modernization work, which will be incredibly complex and require immense coordination.

As a whole, this will be one of Peraton’s largest projects. It will refresh equipment at hundreds of facilities in the country, and the new ARTCC facility will be the nation’s first in roughly six decades. For these tasks to be completed in three years would be unprecedented in modern aviation, and these new systems will also need to be approved by the FAA to ensure safety.

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Other Issues With American Aviation

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While modernizing equipment is a practical initiative that is long overdue, this doesn’t solve the issue of understaffed towers. At the nation’s largest airports, it’s common for controllers to work six-day workweeks and mandatory overtime. Shortly after the government shutdown that ended in November, the FAA announced an initiative to hire 8,900 controllers by 2028. In part, this could be enabled through enhanced training programs for students at select universities.

While the equipment and staffing issues can be solved with proper planning and political willpower, one problem that is more difficult to solve is airport layouts. Many of the nation’s largest airfields are physically constrained and have limited space to grow, while the layout of older airports, such as those in New York, is simply not efficient for current flight volumes.

A key motivation of these new initiatives is to boost overall flight capacity. However, the physical design of the runways and taxiways at many airports makes this goal more difficult to achieve. The DOT and FAA, under the current administration, are promoting heavily ambitious projects with even more ambitious timelines. Issues with equipment and staffing have been known for years, yet lawmakers have seldom had the will to fund projects necessary to fully remedy these problems.

With a high-profile crash in January and worsening infrastructure, commercial aviation has become a hot topic in modern politics. While these projects should be a net benefit for the industry, they also need to be conducted with a focus on safety and long-term sustainability, independent of political optics and solely for the betterment of American aviation.