Peraton's Audacious Plan to Rebuild America's Skies

WASHINGTON, DC – December 04, 2025

In a move signaling one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in modern American history, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Peraton a colossal contract to build a “Brand New Air Traffic Control System” (BNATCS). The deal, potentially worth over $31.5 billion, tasks the national security and technology firm with fundamentally overhauling the nation’s beleaguered aviation backbone. Peraton’s CEO, Steve Schorer, hailed the award as a “historic opportunity” to usher in a “new Golden Age of air travel.” While the rhetoric soars, the mission is grounded in the stark reality of a system teetering on the edge of obsolescence, a challenge that has stymied modernization efforts for decades.

A System on the Brink

The urgency behind the BNATCS initiative cannot be overstated. America’s air traffic control system, once the global gold standard, is now a patchwork of aging, often incompatible technologies. A damning Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from September 2024 revealed that over 100 of the FAA’s 138 critical systems are unsustainable, with more than half having a “critical” impact on airspace operations. Some components are relics from a different technological era, with facilities reportedly still using floppy disks, 60-year-old systems, and voice switches reliant on analog technology nearly double their intended lifespan.

This technological decay is not a theoretical problem. The nationwide ground stop in January 2023, the first since 9/11, was a direct result of an aging system failure, causing chaos for thousands of flights. In the twelve months leading up to September 2023, the system experienced over 500 ATC lapses, including near-misses and communication breakdowns that have eroded public and industry confidence. This crisis follows the troubled rollout of the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Launched in 2003 with a $36 billion price tag, NextGen has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, delivering only a fraction of its promised benefits. The program's struggles have made it clear that incremental upgrades are no longer sufficient, paving the way for the radical “rip and replace” strategy embodied by the BNATCS contract.

Peraton's $31.5 Billion Mandate

The scale of Peraton’s task is staggering. The project is backed by an initial $12.5 billion congressional “down payment” via the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford indicating an additional $20 billion will be required to complete the transformation. The FAA is demanding results quickly, with a target for the new system to go online by 2028 and for “transformational” changes to be delivered within just 3.5 years.

Phase one will focus on a massive technology refresh, replacing core infrastructure like telecommunications, radar, software, and hardware. Peraton’s immediate priorities include migrating the system’s remaining copper wire infrastructure to modern fiber optics and establishing a new digital command center. Phase two involves the construction of new facilities, including the first new Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) since the 1960s, 16 new towers, and 15 co-located Terminal Radar Approach Controls (TRACONs).

The sheer volume of equipment involved is immense: the project will replace 25,000 radios, deploy 618 new radars, and install 475 new voice switches. Dozens of airports will receive new surface radar and flight data management tools to create a common, modern platform across all air traffic facilities. To ensure accountability, the contract is structured to heavily penalize poor performance while rewarding the achievement of key milestones, directly tying Peraton’s profits to its ability to deliver on schedule and on budget.

A Bet on Integration and AI

In a competitive process that saw a joint bid from industry giants Parsons Corp. and IBM, the FAA ultimately chose Peraton, a privately-held firm owned by Veritas Capital. The selection signals a bet on the company’s specific expertise as a “mission capability integrator” rather than a traditional hardware manufacturer. The FAA appears to be banking on Peraton’s track record of integrating complex, disparate systems for high-stakes government clients, including every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and NASA.

Central to Peraton’s strategy is the promised integration of artificial intelligence. The company’s research arm, Peraton Labs, has developed advanced AI-based control technologies that can help systems adapt to unexpected events, a capability with obvious applications in managing the complexities of the national airspace. This expertise in AI, combined with deep experience in secure communications, cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, and large-scale systems engineering, appears to have aligned perfectly with the FAA’s vision for a resilient, intelligent, and future-proof ATC system. The challenge will be integrating these next-generation solutions into a live, 24/7 operational environment without disrupting the flow of air traffic.

Aligning a Turbulent Airspace

For the project to succeed where NextGen faltered, it will require unprecedented collaboration among all stakeholders. Initial reactions have been cautiously optimistic. A representative for Airlines for America, the industry trade group, welcomed the administration’s commitment, a sentiment echoed by executives from major carriers. One airline president noted that in 2024, a stunning 66% of his company’s delays were attributable to ATC technology and staffing issues, highlighting the immense economic and operational gains a modernized system could unlock.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) also expressed strong support for the investment, having long advocated for replacing outdated technology. The union's president emphasized the critical need for controller involvement at every stage of the modernization process, while also pointing to the persistent and severe staffing shortages—a shortfall of nearly 3,800 certified controllers—that technology alone cannot solve. Balancing this massive technological overhaul with the human element will be paramount.

Peraton, in partnership with the FAA, is now at the helm of a project that carries the weight of the entire U.S. aviation industry. The promise of a “Golden Age” is compelling, but the path is fraught with immense technical, logistical, and political challenges. Success will mean safer skies, fewer delays, and a robust economic engine for the nation; failure would be a costly setback with consequences for millions of travelers and the country's standing as a global aviation leader.