GAO faults FAA planning for air traffic control modernization

The FAA has no dependable lifecycle cost estimate and no integrated master schedule for its air traffic control modernization, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Monday. Auditors warned the gaps raise the risk the program will run over budget, fall behind, or miss performance targets.

Congress set aside $12.5 billion for the work in July 2025, and the agency intends to direct most of it to the first phase. The FAA gave high-level cost figures for that phase in June but could not supply the analysis behind them, the GAO said. Those numbers leave out government costs, most first-phase operating costs, and all second-phase costs.

The second phase is put at roughly $10.2 billion, not counting facilities, but no dates have been set for starting or finishing it. The first phase is due for completion by December 2028 and covers upgrades to communications, surveillance, weather and training systems, among others.

Auditors also found the agency is tracking 11,389 separate project schedules for the first phase rather than one combined schedule. That arrangement can lead to multiple projects being planned at the same facility without coordinating installation work to limit disruption to air traffic, the report said. FAA officials told the GAO they intend to fix the problem but have not set a timeline.

Some work is moving ahead. As of May, the agency reported it had replaced 2,560 of 5,170 aging copper connections with fiber-optic cable, and it plans to finish voice-radio modernization nine years ahead of its earlier schedule. The GAO recommended the FAA make a reliable lifecycle cost estimate and an integrated first-phase schedule its priorities.