Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Correspondence

Date

Status on the Federal Aviation Administration's Major Acquisitions

File Attachment

We issued a status report covering 20 major FAA projects, including development of precise satellite navigation systems; replacing air traffic controller displays at facilities that serve large hub airports; and acquiring new technologies to prevent accidents on crowded runways. Our work shows FAA has made progress with a number of acquisitions, including Free Flight Phase 1, which has introduced new automated controller tools.

However, cost and schedule problems in several programs bear watching, including the (1) Wide Area Augmentation System, a new satellite navigation system; (2) Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System; (3) Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, a key Free Flight technology that can help pilots land in bad weather and help prevent runway accidents; and (4) Operational and Supportability Implementation System, which provides weather and flight planning information to general aviation pilots. We will provide the report to members of our key Congressional oversight committees.