Next Gov
David DiMolfetta
23 September 2024

The U.S. government’s top auditing shop on Monday said that 51 of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 138 air traffic control systems are “unsustainable” and are in urgent need of modernization.

The Government and Accountability Office report, which was ordered following a January 2023 FAA outage linked to a faulty ATC system, found that 37% of the systems have outdated functionality, lack spare parts and require specialized maintenance in order to overhaul them.

The ATC systems undergird weather, navigation, communications, traffic optimization and other airline operations. Specific systems deemed unsustainable were not provided for security reasons but GAO noted that “29 unsustainable and 29 potentially unsustainable systems have a critical operational impact on the safety and efficiency of the national airspace.”

For 15 of the systems, FAA did not have any modernization investment plans, the report said.

Read on: Nearly 40% of FAA air traffic control systems need urgent updates, GAO reports - Nextgov/FCW

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