FAA selects two firms to replace 612 aging radar systems nationwide

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on January 5, 2026, that it has selected RTX and Spain’s Indra to replace 612 radar units deployed across the United States that date back to the 1980s. The agencies said the contractors are expected to deliver new radar capability by the summer of 2028 as part of a broader, multibillion-dollar modernization of the nation’s air traffic control network. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA leadership framed the work as urgent after a series of technical failures at major hubs last year exposed vulnerabilities in the legacy network. The move is intended to simplify maintenance, reduce dependence on obsolete parts and improve system resilience ahead of the administration’s target to complete the overhaul by the end of 2028.

Key Takeaways

• The FAA has awarded contracts to RTX and Indra to replace 612 radar units that primarily date from the 1980s; completion is slated by summer 2028.
• The program sits inside a larger modernization effort: Congress approved $12.5 billion and the FAA has committed more than $6 billion so far; Transportation Secretary Duffy has indicated an additional roughly $20 billion may be required to finish the full plan.
• The FAA’s current $3 billion equipment budget has been largely consumed by maintenance of legacy equipment, including systems that still rely on floppy disks and discontinued hardware.
• Two separate technical failures last spring knocked out radar coverage for controllers managing traffic into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport, triggering thousands of cancellations and delays.
• The procurement will replace 14 different legacy radar types with a smaller set of modern systems intended to simplify spares, repairs and long-term support.
• The agency has already replaced more than one-third of aging copper connections with fiber optics and engaged Peraton, a national-security contractor, to oversee portions of the work.

Background

The FAA’s en route radar network in many locations traces to systems installed in the 1980s. Those units have substantially outlived their design lifetimes, creating high maintenance costs and growing reliability concerns. Over time, manufacturers stopped producing replacement boards and parts, forcing technicians to source components from secondary markets and, in extreme cases, online auction sites for discontinued items.

Congress authorized a multiyear modernization program that includes equipment upgrades, communications improvements and replacement of antiquated infrastructure. The FAA initially directed much of its equipment budget toward keeping legacy systems running, slowing replacement schedules. Operational disruptions—most notably the Newark-area outages last spring—intensified pressure on federal leaders to accelerate procurement and fielding of modern radar and network components.

Main Event

On January 5, 2026, the FAA and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that RTX and Indra had won the contracts to supply and install replacement radar units across the national network. The agencies set a target for the new radar units to be in service by summer 2028, aligning with an administration goal to finish the larger overhaul near the end of 2028.

The procurement aims to reduce the number of distinct radar varieties in service—from 14 legacy types to a smaller, standardized family—so maintenance, training and spare-parts logistics become more manageable. FAA officials emphasized that many units have exceeded their expected service life, leading to rising maintenance expenses and harder-to-find parts.

The agency declined to provide a public line-item cost for the new radar units, saying procurement negotiations and integration costs vary by site. The wider modernization program has already seen more than $6 billion obligated from the $12.5 billion Congress approved; FAA and administration officials have said more funding will be necessary to complete network, communications and software upgrades.

Analysis & Implications

Replacing 612 aging radar units is a technically complex and logistically demanding effort that touches many parts of the national airspace system. Standardizing hardware can reduce repair times and lower logistics complexity, but fielding thousands of units across diverse sites requires coordinated scheduling to avoid creating new operational gaps during the transition.

The FAA’s budgeting choices to date—spending much of a $3 billion equipment allotment on maintenance—reflect a classic infrastructure trade-off: keep the old network running or accelerate replacements. Continuing to allocate large shares of capital to sustainment delays modernization and can magnify eventual replacement bills as systems degrade further.

Operational risks are not merely theoretical. The Newark-area outages last spring, which resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and widespread delays at a major hub, illustrated how failures in legacy radar and backup systems can cascade through airline schedules, airport operations and passenger itineraries. Modern radar, along with improved communications and fiber-optic links, should reduce single-point vulnerabilities if integration and redundancy are properly engineered.

Financially, the program presents a budgetary strain. With more than $6 billion already committed from the initial $12.5 billion appropriation and an administration estimate that roughly $20 billion more may be required to finish the entire modernization, Congress and the FAA will need to reconcile long-term funding commitments with near-term operational priorities.

Comparison & Data

The table summarizes core program figures disclosed by the FAA and administration officials: 612 units slated for replacement, more than $6 billion already obligated from the $12.5 billion congressional authorization, and indications from administration leadership that substantially more funding may be required to finish the entire modernization. Replacing physical radars is only one component—communications, software and network upgrades also drive costs and schedule risk.

Reactions & Quotes

“Our radar network is outdated and long overdue for replacement. Many of the units have exceeded their intended service life, making them increasingly expensive to maintain and difficult to support.”

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

FAA and Transportation Department officials framed the award as a step toward reducing operational risk after last year’s outages and simplifying long-term maintenance and spare-parts logistics.

Transportation Department statement (paraphrase)

An industry observer summarized the choice as an effort to move from fragile, legacy hardware and ad-hoc repairs toward a maintainable, standardized architecture that should lower lifecycle costs if budgets and schedules align.

Aviation industry analyst (summary)

Unconfirmed

• The precise per-unit cost of the new radar installations has not been released publicly and remains to be finalized during contract execution.
• Whether the full modernization—beyond the 612 radar replacements—can be completed within the administration’s stated timeframe depends on future congressional appropriations and remains uncertain.
• Detailed root-cause findings for the Newark-area outages were summarized publicly but some technical details and contributing factors have not been fully disclosed in agency public statements.

Bottom Line

The FAA’s selection of RTX and Indra to replace 612 aging radar units addresses a clear operational vulnerability and represents a tangible step in a long-running modernization program. Replacing obsolete hardware should reduce maintenance burdens and the operational risk posed by discontinued parts inventories, but the work must be carefully sequenced to avoid service interruptions during installation.

Funding and schedule remain the central uncertainties. With more than $6 billion already obligated from a $12.5 billion authorization—and administration statements that substantially more may be needed—Congress, the FAA and industry stakeholders will need to align on financing and priorities to realize the stated goals by 2028. Meanwhile, continued attention to redundancy, testing and transparent reporting on outages will be important to maintain public confidence in the national airspace system.

Sources

• ABC News / AP wire — news wire report summarizing FAA announcement (January 5, 2026).