FAA Launches $875M AI Air Traffic System — SkimNews
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- SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories) is the FAA's new $875 million AI-powered air traffic management platform, rolling out first in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area before expanding to other regions.
- Air Space Intelligence built the SMART software under a 12-year government contract, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- SMART runs as a cloud-based platform that uses AI to assess airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions, and operational constraints in order to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur.
- The FAA described SMART in a one-page readout as a system that 'enhances existing FAA air traffic management systems.'
- The FAA has simultaneously announced a hiring initiative it says will 'erase the longstanding staffing shortage' driving the controller crisis.
- The federal government is separately pursuing a broader modernization of the nation's aging air traffic systems.
Why it matters: The $875 million, 12-year commitment to Air Space Intelligence's SMART platform shows the FAA is betting heavily on AI automation to ease a nationwide controller shortage — with D.C.-area flyers first in line while a separate hiring plan tries to fill the gaps.
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