FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has pushed back against a Government Accountability Office report that criticised the agency’s air traffic control modernisation programme, arguing the FAA already has the planning documents the watchdog said were missing. Bedford told a House appropriations subcommittee in Washington that phase one of the overhaul will cost $16 billion, even though Congress approved less funding, and that the agency is staying on track by using money from its facilities and equipment budget.
The dispute centres on the FAA’s broader effort to replace ageing systems, including the copper-to-fibre telecom transition and radar upgrades. Bedford told lawmakers the telecom work should be completed by September 2027, while acknowledging that some equipment replacement is behind schedule because of supply-chain problems. He is also seeking at least $10 billion more for phase two of the programme, which would extend the modernisation effort beyond the initial funding round.
The GAO had warned that the FAA lacks a reliable lifecycle cost estimate and an integrated master schedule for the programme, raising questions over cost control and timing. Bedford rejected that characterisation while still conceding that the agency faces funding shortfalls and schedule pressure as it tries to compress a long-planned overhaul into a shorter timetable.