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Wednesday, acting The administrator of the FAA Chris Rocheleau said The Chamber’s credit committee that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace its aging air traffic control systemswhich are still based on Windows 95 trays and computers, Tom equipment reports. The agency has published a request for information to bring together proposals from companies wishing to combat the overhaul of massive infrastructure.
“The idea is to replace the system. No more trays or strips of paper,” said Rocheleau during the committee hearing. The American transport secretary Sean Duffy described the “most important infrastructure project that we have been in this country for decades”, describing it as a bipartite priority.
Most rounds and air traffic control facilities in the United States currently operate with technology that seems to be frozen in the 20th century, although it is not necessarily a bad thing – when it works. Some controllers currently use paper strips To follow the aircraft movements and transfer data between systems using crafts, while their computers run Microsoft Windows 95 Operating system, launched in 1995.
As Tom material notes, the modernization of the system is largely popular. Sheldon Jacobson, professor at the University of Illinois who studied the risks aviationsaid the system works remarkably well As is, but that an upgrade is always critical, according to NPR. The coalition of the Modern Skies aviation industry is pressure for the modernization of ATC and recently published an advertisement highlight obsolete technology.
While vintage systems may inadvertently protected air traffic control from widespread breakdowns like the Crowdsstrike incident who disrupted modern IT systems worldwide in 2024, Agency officials say 51 of the 138 FAA systems are not durable due to obsolete functionalities and a lack of spare parts.
The FAA is not the only one to hang on to Discquet technology. San Francisco train control system still works on back Loaded from 5.25 -inch floppy disks, with upgrades not expected before 2030 due to budgetary constraints. Japan also has Fight in recent years To modernize government recording systems that use floppy disks.
If it’s not broken?
The modernization of the air traffic control system presents engineering challenges that extend far beyond the installation of new computers. Unlike typical IT upgrades, ATC systems must maintain a continuous 24/7 operation, as the closure of maintenance installations could compromise air -safety.
This requirement of availability eliminates the possibility of traditional approaches to the system where the old equipment is exchanged during the planned downtime. Replacement systems must also meet the security requirements to withstand cyber attacks. A successful violation of air traffic control infrastructure could paralyze the national aviation networks, which has caused cascade effects that have an impact on transport, trade and emergency services.
And yet, not everyone is convinced that the massive overhaul planned will achieve the desired effects. In a NPR report On the question, the analyst of the aviation industry Robert W. Mann Jr. expressed his skepticism as to whether the new systems will really materialize.
“It has been the same mantra for 30 years. Give them more money. They will create the new system. It will work better, will work harder,” Mann told NPR. “And we have been doing it for over 30 years now, and we have obtained the same results.”
