Is the airspace safe?  “Of course it’s safe. It is the safest mode of transportation.”  

At Tuesday’s Modern Skies Summit, USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy assured participants that the U.S. airspace is safe. In his opening remarks, Duffy cited the 2025 DCA mid-air collision that resulted in 67 deaths, and a radar/communications outage at Newark Liberty airport that left the system without critical visibility. His message was clear: the U.S. airspace remains safe, but the infrastructure supporting that safety is aging and increasingly strained. 

Secretary Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Brian Bedford used the summit to show that they are moving quickly to replace aging air traffic control infrastructure, citing progress on the Brand New Air Traffic Control System, an ambitious effort announced in May 2025 to replace decades-old communications, radar, and tracking infrastructure by the end of 2028. USDOT leadership discussed how leveraging new technology, private-sector expertise, and workforce development will ensure the project’s success.  

Yet the summit ended with several unanswered questions, including how the FAA will incorporate ADS-B In technology into its plan, how USDOT and FAA will secure future funding, and whether the FAA can meet the 2028 deadline.  

Moving beyond NextGen 

This is not the first time the FAA promised a plan to overhaul the air traffic control system. In 2003, the agency established the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), which sought to replace the nation’s radar-based system with a satellite-based navigation and communications system. By 2022, the FAA had spent $14 billion, with mixed results. The FAA employed new digital communication technology but failed to deploy automated and digital tracking systems such as the Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM). This history makes the current project more than a technology upgrade. It is also a test of whether the FAA can deliver a successful and timely overhaul that avoids the delays and mixed results that plagued NextGen.  

The new project focuses on four areas: communications, surveillance, automation, and facilities. At the summit, USDOT pointed to several early milestones: replacing half of the copper wiring that connects the air traffic control (ATC) system with fiber cable, converting 270 radio sites to modern equipment, installing new surface awareness systems at 54 airports, and moving 17 ATC towers from paper flight strips to electronic tracking through TFDM. These improvements demonstrate real progress and the FAA’s ability to replace pieces of outdated equipment.  

Technology, Industry, and Workforce 

USDOT officials highlighted three factors they believe will help to modernize the system: new technology, industry expertise, and workforce development.  

Many ATC towers still rely on equipment from the mid-20th century, while the aviation system around them has become more complex. New tracking, communications, automation, and unmanned aircraft systems can help the FAA but also create new risks. FAA can use new tracking and communication tools to replace mid-century infrastructure, but automation and unmanned aircraft make the airspace more complex. The agency cannot manage that complexity with analog systems designed for an airspace used by only manned aircraft.  

Officials also made it clear that USDOT plans to take advantage of industry expertise. The FAA selected Peraton, a private national security and technology company, as the “prime integrator,” or the main contractor that will oversee, coordinate, and manage the deployment of the project in cooperation with the FAA. Relying on Peraton as the prime integrator reflects USDOT’s broader strategy: use private-sector expertise to accelerate deployment. That could help the FAA move faster, but it also adds another actor to the project. The FAA will need to oversee Peraton’s work closely, hold contractors accountable, and ensure Peraton coordinates with FAA staff.  

USDOT is also trying to hire and train enough people to operate the modernized systems. Since March 2025, the FAA has recruited more than 2,000 new hires and has plans to recruit thousands more. But the more important measure is whether FAA can increase the number of fully certified controllers fast enough to offset attrition, training delays, and rising traffic demands.  

Timing 

The timing of the summit is important. It has been almost one year since USDOT unveiled its plan to modernize the air traffic control system. The summit was an opportunity for officials to show that they have made progress and have learned from NextGen, which made some progress but faced delays and unmet expectations.  

The summit was also a chance to showcase the age of the current system. Tables displayed radios and radar equipment from the late 20th century that remain in use today. The message was simple: the project is about replacing aging infrastructure that still supports daily operations. That visual argument is effective. But it also reinforces the central challenge facing USDOT. Showing old equipment helps make the case for urgency. It does not show that the department can replace that equipment quickly, safely, and at a national scale.  

Remaining questions 

Tuesday’s event showcased USDOT and FAA’s capabilities, but three questions remain: whether the technology plan is complete, how USDOT will secure future funding, and whether the department can meet the 2028 deadline without compromising safety.  

Where does ADS-B In fit in? 

Communications technology is a major component of the project, but officials made no mention of ADS-B In as part of the plan to improve ATC communications. Following the 2025 DCA mid-air collision, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that aircraft be required to have ADS-B In technology. Aircraft are currently required to have ADS-B Out technology, which transmits information out, but they are not required to have ADS-B In, which directly receives information from other aircraft, giving pilots greater situational awareness and adding redundancy beyond communications with air traffic control.  

A proposed 2025 Senate bill, the ROTOR Act, mandated ADS-B In technology, but the legislation failed to pass in the House. The House introduced its own version of the ROTOR Act, called the Alert Act, which did not include a mandate for ADS-B In technology. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee chair Sam Graves opposed the ADS-B In mandate, citing that it would be an additional cost burden on small aircraft owners to install the technology.  

The future of the ADS-B In mandate remains uncertain, but the technology improves situational awareness between aircraft and supports ATC operations by adding redundancy in communication and tracking. However, officials made no mention of ADS-B In at Tuesday’s summit. That makes ADS-B In not only a technical question, but a policy question: how much redundancy should regulators require and who should pay for it? By avoiding the issue at Tuesday’s event, USDOT left a gap in its modernization and safety narrative. 

How will USDOT secure additional funding? 

There is significant funding available for the project—the last budget reconciliation law, in July 2025, set aside $12.5 billion for this effort, but Secretary Duffy also insisted that the project will require more funding. The total projected cost is around $31.5 billion, leaving an additional $19 billion. 

The question is where that $19 billion will come from. No FAA funding could be included in a new budget reconciliation bill under the framework passed by the Senate yesterday. USDOT will need additional funding soon if it wants to meet its 2028 deadline. While the summit showed the department’s vision to modernize the ATC system, it did not show how the department plans to fully fund its vision. 

Can the FAA deliver by 2028? 

Even with full funding, the 2028 deadline is ambitious. Overhauling the ATC system in roughly two and a half years will require close coordination between USDOT, FAA, Peraton, equipment suppliers, airports, controllers, and Congress. Beyond that, the new radios, voice communication technology, radar, and tracking systems have to work properly and require a trained workforce to operate them. Schedule pressures create a risk of quick deployment before systems are fully integrated and tested. The FAA and Peraton discussed the technical components of the project but did not discuss how they will complete the project by 2028.  

Overall, Tuesday’s Modern Skies Summit was a flashy and optimistic showcase of the USDOT’s efforts to usher in a Brand New Air Traffic Control System. It is an ambitious plan to address the urgent need to modernize the ATC system. The question is whether USDOT can deliver that plan. Until the department explains how it will close the funding gap, address ADS-B In, and complete the project on time, all while ensuring the airspace system is kept safe, the Brand New Air Traffic Control System will remain both a necessary project and an unproven promise.