Overview

• The Department of Transportation has secured a $12.5 billion down payment and is seeking an additional $19 billion to fully fund the $31.5 billion modernization.
• The overhaul encompasses replacing 618 radars, installing anti-collision tarmac technology at 200 airports, expanding the ADS-B network, upgrading towers and communications and funding the first new en route center since the 1960s.
• Duffy expects to select a software provider within eight months followed by six to ten months of system debugging and deployment.
• The FAA remains 3,500 controllers short of its target and logged 2.2 million overtime hours costing $200 million in 2024 to sustain operations.
• Public concern over air travel safety has intensified following a fatal January midair collision that killed 67 people and a series of near-misses.