FAA Allows Taxpayers to Track Progress on $12.5B ATC Upgrades

Agency cites lack of transparency for undermining previous modernization efforts such as NextGen.

Jack Daleo

Friday, May 22, 2026 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A new FAA website contains a progress tracker for the agency’s $12.5 billion air traffic control (ATC) modernization effort. [Credit: FAA]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA launched a new website to provide public transparency on its ongoing $12.5 billion air traffic control (ATC) modernization program, aiming to overcome past transparency issues with similar efforts.
This comprehensive modernization involves over 10,000 projects across 4,600+ sites, upgrading radar, software, hardware, and telecommunications infrastructure, with a target completion by 2028.
The initiative seeks to optimize air traffic, minimize disruptions like delays and cancellations, and includes advanced systems like SMART for predictive airspace management.

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A new FAA web page purports to pull back the curtain on the agency’s ongoing air traffic control (ATC) modernization push, which American taxpayers are funding to the tune of $12.5 billion.

Launched Friday ahead of the busy Memorial Day Weekend, the website is intended to give taxpayers a “transparent, up-close view” of more than 10,000 projects happening nationwide, per a news release. Users can input their city, state, ZIP code, or local airport to generate a custom report that captures local progress and efforts planned in the next 30 days.