One Year Later: How Air Traffic Control Modernization Is Taking Flight

Just over a year ago, President Trump signed the Working Families Tax Cuts into law. The omnibus measure set aside $12.5 billion to bring America’s air traffic control network into the 21st century. 

What exactly has been achieved during that time?  

Modernizing the Backbone of America’s Airspace

Consider the push to fiber optic connectivity. For years, controllers have relied on old copper wires to transmit radar, voice, and data between towers, radar sites, and aircraft. But with age, those systems have become increasingly unreliable. Last year, a fried copper wire caused a 90-second blackout at Newark Airport—temporarily severing connection between controllers and pilots. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made upgrading this equipment a priority. According to the agency’s most recent estimates, 57 percent of legacy copper wiring has been replaced by fiber-optic cable, dramatically improving the speed and reliability of communications from the control tower to the cockpit. 

That’s not all. Until recently, air traffic controllers used paper flight strips to manually track aircraft movements—a process that was slow, cumbersome, and ill-suited for today’s increasingly complex airspace. To modernize operations, the FAA has introduced electronic flight strips at 17 airports so far—giving controllers at facilities like Washington, D.C. and Cleveland a faster, more efficient way to manage aircraft movements.

Another analog tool that’s getting a facelift is voice communication technology. Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that Grand Junction Regional Airport in Colorado became the 100th FAA facility equipped with new digital voice communication systems. According to Duffy, the end goal is to “supercharge” communication between pilots and controllers by providing crystal-clear audio with minimal static. 

Outside of the control tower, airports themselves are becoming smarter. The FAA has installed runway safety technology capable of detecting potential conflicts in real time at 54 facilities. And, innovative tools like artificial intelligence are being deployed to better assess the data related to runway incursions. Together, these technologies are giving controllers better information, faster warnings, and more time to prevent incidents before they happen.

Rebuilding the Controller Workforce

While upgrading America’s aviation technology is critical, so too is ensuring the towers that use this technology are adequately staffed. Today, the U.S. is short thousands of air traffic controllers—a problem that’s been left to fester in part due to misplaced priorities under the Biden administration and last year’s government shutdown that threw a wrench in the workforce. 

But the hiring momentum is building. The FAA met its air traffic controller hiring goal last year and is already well on its way toward exceeding this year’s target. With more controllers entering the workforce, America’s skies will be better equipped to handle future growth.

The Next Frontier

While America’s aviation modernization effort is off to a strong start, the Trump administration agrees it’s far from complete.

Secretary Duffy has estimated roughly $19 billion more is needed to finish the effort. The next phase—which costs about half that—aims to develop new software to make flying more efficient. As Duffy notes, “the real magic truly is the software.”

With the 2026 midterms on the horizon, lawmakers shouldn’t wait for the dust to settle to unlock the remaining funds. Whether through the upcoming supplemental appropriations bill or a standalone funding package, the flying public is counting on its elected leaders to deliver the remaining investments needed to fully modernize America’s air traffic control system.