The Trump administration is bulldozing forward. They’re constantly announcing new initiatives to help the country.
And a leading Trump official has unveiled a new plan that will spark a massive change for Americans.
Modernizing America’s Air Traffic Control System
In a decisive move to overhaul the nation’s outdated air traffic control infrastructure, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an ambitious plan on Thursday to transform the system by 2028. The initiative comes in the wake of a tragic plane crash near Washington, DC, and a surge of radar and communication failures that have rattled officials, lawmakers, and travelers.
“This is bold, this is gonna be challenging, but we absolutely can do it,” Duffy declared, outlining a vision that includes constructing at least six state-of-the-art air traffic control centers to replace facilities rooted in the 1960s.
The plan also involves upgrading 4,600 sites by replacing outdated copper wiring with advanced fiber-optic, wireless, and satellite technologies, alongside swapping out 25,000 radios and over 600 aging radar installations.
While Duffy did not specify a precise cost, he suggested the project would require “tens of billions” of dollars. The Trump administration has already proposed an initial $4 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 to kickstart the technological and infrastructural upgrades. Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has put forward a $12.5 billion proposal for the system’s modernization.
“We should be using fiber, but it’s copper. We use radar from the 1970s,” Duffy said. “Some of them are from the 1980s, but most of them are from the 1970s, so this technology is 50 years old that our controllers use to scan the skies and keep airplanes separated from one another.”
Recent incidents have highlighted the urgency of the overhaul. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official, alongside airline industry experts, recently reported approximately 1,000 weekly telecom outages disrupting operations.
A notable example occurred last week at Newark Liberty International Airport, where a 90-second blackout—caused by a worn copper wire—led to flight disruptions and prompted some FAA staff to take “trauma leave,” per CNN.
“I think Newark has been a great example,” Duffy noted. “The backup line didn’t fire and so we had that 30 to 90 seconds of a blackout, which is frightening if we don’t actually accomplish the mission that we’re announcing today.”
Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau echoed the sentiment, stating, “It’s long past time when we need to fix this problem.”
During the announcement, Duffy made a call to President Trump, who expressed enthusiasm for issuing “one, big beautiful contract” for the “complete rebuilding and modernization of America’s air traffic control system.” Trump emphasized that “reliable service … is long overdue” and described the effort as encompassing “everything from digging ditches to the most sophisticated stuff.”
In a poignant moment, Trump acknowledged the families of victims from the January 29 crash between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which claimed 67 lives. “What a horrible thing that was,” he said, addressing the families. “Earlier this year, if they had a system in there, we wouldn’t have had a problem, but you know, the people have devoted themselves to making the skies safer, and we’re going to make them totally safe.”
Duffy’s plan also looks to the future, incorporating hardware and software upgrades for air traffic control towers and introducing a new flight management system to accommodate electric air taxis, or eVTOLs, which he described as “Ubers in the air.” Comparing the modernization to upgrading from a flip phone to a smartphone, Duffy expressed confidence in the timeline, stating, “I’ve told you we’re going to do this in three or four years,” and called for Congress to provide upfront appropriations to fund the project fully.
The announcement drew praise from Airlines for America CEO Nicholas Calio, who dramatically displayed outdated floppy disks and paper strips still in use. “I’ve been holding up floppy disks and paper strips for about nine years now, and I wasn’t going to bring them, but yesterday the secretary encouraged me to bring them along,” Calio said. “Here they are. People can never believe this, but here’s the good news: What’s happening here today is going to put these things out of business for good.”
Calio commended Duffy’s approach, noting, “I want to thank Secretary Duffy for presenting a plan that begins to address a decades-long problem in the manner in which he’s attempting to do it because we’ve seen failure in the past. This one will not.”
In a separate statement, Airlines for America urged Congress to allocate an additional $18.5 billion in emergency funds over the next three years to accelerate the overhaul.
With a clear vision and support, Duffy’s plan signals a transformative step toward safer, more reliable air travel for the future.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
