U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has announced the installation of a new Surface Movement Radar at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, with the upgrade aimed at helping air traffic controllers track aircraft and vehicles on runways and taxiways more clearly in poor weather and low visibility. The airport is the sixth to receive the SMR Model 4 system, following an installation at Newark Liberty International Airport earlier in the week.
The move forms part of a wider modernisation push for the U.S. air traffic control system. The new radar is designed to improve ground surveillance and reduce the risk of runway incursions by giving controllers a sharper picture of airport activity.
Reuters reported earlier in the week that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to deploy 53 surface movement radars at 44 busy U.S. airports by 2028, alongside broader upgrades to communications and surveillance equipment. That programme places DCA within a wider rolling replacement of ageing surface radar infrastructure across the national airspace system.