The Federal Aviation Administration debuted its AI-powered Strategic Management of Airspace Routes and Trajectories platform Monday in a limited mode in airspace around Washington D.C.
Built by Air Space Intelligence as part of a 12-year, nearly $876 million contract, the tool is on pace with early expectations of being operational to some degree by the fall.
The initial launch is focused on the National Capital Region, which includes Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The FAA plans to gradually expand access to the SMART platform to other parts of the country.
“People are like, ‘Is it going to change my whole experience for Christmas?’ Maybe not by Christmas,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a demo of the platform. “We slow roll this, but as I look to next summer and as we roll this out further, I think you’re going to see a gradual improvement of the airspace.”
The platform offers aviation specialists a centralized view of 200 data streams, including weather patterns, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing metrics. The tool isn’t meant to improve safety, but rather to cut down on flight delays and cancellations. Other expected benefits include less wasted fuel and more predictable operations via efficient routing.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about AI and who’s controlling the airspace,” Duffy said. “It’s always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America. This tool won’t manage airspace, but it gives us better information, better data to manage the airspace.”
The platform uses predictive AI to help the FAA “plan hours, days and even weeks ahead” by anticipating airspace demand and weather constraints via data analysis, per a press release. All suggestions made by the SMART platform are supposed to be reviewed by FAA staff and local leadership at air traffic control facilities before they’re put into action.
“It’s all just about getting better data clarity and enabling traffic coordinators to make better decisions to allow air traffic controllers to do what we really need them to do, which is maintain the safety of the system and traffic separation,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said during the event. “Starting today, we are now making those subtle trajectory changes, and we’re making advisories to the command center on weather.”
In a fact sheet, the FAA said it will roll out additional solutions as it continues to test the platform, train employees and assess how it’s all working.
Work still ahead #
The new AI tool is just one part of the FAA’s broader plans to modernize air traffic control operations.
The Department of Transportation unit has also begun digitizing flight strips, upgrading analog communications and overhauling other legacy workflows. The efforts are part of a $12.5 billion plan to address a laundry list of technology woes that have plagued the agency for years.
“It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in government that the facilities that the FAA operates in today are grossly archaic, obsolete and relatively unsustainable,” Bedford told Congress in December.
DOT officials have advocated for more funding as execution has gotten underway — and as incidents have occurred.
On Monday, an Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey, causing a telecommunications outage and leading the FAA to flights across the Northeast.
“This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future,” Duffy said in an X post about the incident.
While the FAA has worked to replace copper wires with fiber alternatives, both Duffy and Bedford emphasized the need for better redundancy. “We’re pulling copper up and putting fiber down, but it’s the same data architecture that we’ve had for 50 years,” Bedford said during the Monday event. “The redundancy comes from having data go into cloud service, so when you have a fiber cut, you have multiple pathways of backup. Today, we have physical fiber, and when it’s cut, there’s one redundancy and if we lose that, there’s no more.”
DOT is also looking to build better defenses against malicious attacks to its systems. In a Government Accountability Office report published Monday, the watchdog found gaps in the FAA’s handling and management of electromagnetic spectrum-related threats, which include spoofing and jamming.
“Until FAA develops and implements a plan to strengthen authentication and data protection for these applications, malicious actors could exploit weaknesses and increase the risk of disrupted flight operations, aviation accidents, or safety incidents,” GAO said in its report.
The audit was conducted from April 2025 to September 2026. The watchdog interviewed staff, conducted site visits and reviewed policy documents and guidance.
“To address these threats, FAA is strengthening its risk assessment process to ensure that it reflects the current threat landscape and leverages relevant guidance,” a DOT official said in response to the findings.