The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched a new website that affords the public a direct look at more than 10,000 air traffic control modernization projects underway across the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford unveiled the ‘Modern Skies’ website on May 22, 2026, just ahead of the Memorial Day travel weekend.
The site is designed to offer what officials describe as an unprecedented level of transparency into how federal dollars are being spent to upgrade the nation’s aviation infrastructure.
What Modern Skies platform offers
The Modern Skies platform includes several features aimed at making information accessible to everyday travelers and local communities.
An interactive map allows users to explore project locations by state and type of work. A local impact search engine enables anyone to enter a city, state, airport code, ZIP code, or congressional district in order to generate a personalized report showing what improvements have been completed and what is due in the next 30 days. A progress tracker provides monthly updates on what has been accomplished and what remains.
According to the FAA, the site’s data will be refreshed on a monthly basis.
We’re giving Americans a closer look at the future of air travel. ✈️ This is the biggest transformation of America’s air traffic control system and we’re committed to transparency and accountability every step of the way. Check out how the FAA is investing in safer and more… pic.twitter.com/3y1Si7fkmp
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) May 22, 2026
Duffy suggested that the transparency effort is meant to address problems that undermined past modernization attempts.
“One of the reasons past air traffic control modernization efforts failed was a lack of transparency,” Duffy said. “We’re forecasting 5.4 million flights from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend, 54,000 today alone. That surging demand underscores why the work we’re doing is so important.”
Bryan Bedford called the initiative the most significant transformation of America’s air traffic control system in generations.
“The American people deserve a clear view of how these investments are being executed and the progress being made to modernize our skies,” Bedford said.
A $12.5 billion overhaul
The FAA is using an initial $12.5 billion in federal funding to replace aging infrastructure at more than 4,600 sites nationwide. The upgrades include new radars, radios, surface surveillance systems, electronic flight strips, digital voice switches, and telecommunications lines — with fiber optic cable, wireless, and satellite connections replacing outdated copper wiring.
By the end of 2028, the agency expects to have installed 5,000 new high-speed network connections, 27,000 new radios, 450 digital voice switches, and 612 new radars. Additional upgrades include surface radar replacements at 44 airports, new surveillance technology at 200 airports, and electronic flight strips at 89 airports.
Progress so far
The FAA claims that it has already replaced 51% of all copper wires, converted 282 radio sites, installed 69 new Surface Awareness Initiative systems, transitioned 17 towers to electronic flight strips, and installed 62 IP voice switches at control towers.
In total, the project is expected to require more than 10 million labor hours, the equivalent of 1.5 million working days, involving 52 vendors and 21 specialized labor categories, from welders to programmers.
