FAA Developing ATC Tech to Predict the Future

Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART) system could shift air traffic control from reactive to predictive.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 05:20 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford (left) and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speak at the inaugural Modern Skies Summit in Washington, D.C. [Jack Daleo/FLYING]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is developing AI-based SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories) software to predict airspace conditions days or months in advance, aiming to strategically optimize air traffic, reduce delays, and lower controller workload.
SMART is designed for strategic pre-planning to enhance efficiency and predictability, not for real-time aircraft separation, and is projected to lead to benefits like lower fuel consumption and faster flights.
The software's deployment faces funding challenges, but it is a critical component of a broader FAA modernization effort (BNATCS) that has already made significant progress in upgrading physical air traffic control infrastructure.

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FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and other federal and industry stakeholders on Tuesday shed new light on a planned air traffic control (ATC) software that could predict airspace conditions days, weeks, or even months in advance.

Duffy first alluded to the AI-based software, called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories), on Friday. According to Frank Matus, director of uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) integration for Thales, the FAA’s vision is to predict weather, traffic, and other conditions “somewhere between six months and up to hours before operation.”