FAA Still Billions Short of Funding Needed for ATC Data Automation

Thales becomes latest company to seek contract for common automation platform, but how will the agency fund it?

Jack Daleo

Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 04:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The FAA seeks a common automation platform (CAP) to unify terminal and en route air traffic control (ATC) data as part of a massive modernization effort. [Credit: Thales]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's Common Automation Platform (CAP), intended to merge its En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) and Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) platforms for air traffic control, currently lacks the necessary funding for its development and deployment.
Several companies, including Thales (which recently launched its cloud-based, AI-powered TopSky-America), RTX's Collins Aerospace, and Leidos, are actively competing for the CAP contract.
The CAP is a crucial component of the Transportation Department’s larger Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) effort, with estimates placing its cost alone at $10 billion amidst a broader request for $31.5 billion in modernization funds.

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As competition for the FAA’s common automation platform (CAP) contract heats up, the agency still lacks the funds required to develop the technology, which is envisioned to combine its En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) and Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) platforms.

Thales becomes the latest company to pitch a CAP solution to the FAA. On Wednesday, it announced TopSky-America, a cloud-based, AI-powered platform that it said is tailored for the FAA to enhance information sharing, decision making, and situational awareness for air traffic controllers (ATCs).