FAA’s AI-Powered Air Traffic Management System Could Debut in September

Officials share new details of the Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART) platform.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Transportation Department officials envision the system predicting airspace conditions up to six months in advance. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is deploying Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART), an AI-powered air traffic management system designed to predict weather, traffic, and other airspace conditions months in advance.
SMART's initial operational demonstration is set for September, focusing on en route airspace 24,000 feet and above, aiming to optimize routing and strategically reduce delays.
This system is intended as a workload reduction tool for human air traffic controllers, sharpening trajectory predictions and managing airspace proactively, but not for directly separating aircraft.
The FAA is reportedly close to awarding the SMART contract, with Air Space Intelligence (ASI) emerging as the likely firm over competitors like Thales and Palantir.

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The FAA this week provided fresh details on how Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART)—an artificial intelligence-powered air traffic management system designed to predict weather, traffic, and other conditions months in advance—will initially be deployed.

Steve Fulton, an FAA senior certification advisor and technical pilot, said SMART’s initial operational demonstration will focus on en route airspace 24,000 feet and above, Aviation Week reported. The deployment is on track for September, he said.