RTX Eyes a Major Slice of the US$12.5 Billion Air Traffic Control Overhaul

If you've spent any time flying online networks like VATSIM, Pilot Edge, or IVAO, or simply marvelled at how real-world controllers juggle hundreds of aircraft through busy airspace, you'll appreciate just how remarkable it is that the real US ATC system still works as well as it does - because under the hood, it's running on infrastructure that in many places predates the internet. Floppy disks. Paper strips. Radar hardware from the Reagan era. That's finally about to change in a big way, and aerospace giant RTX is positioning itself right at the heart of it.

On March 3rd, RTX's Collins Aerospace division hosted a briefing in Washington to demonstrate the technology it's pitching as the backbone of the FAA's Brand New Air Traffic Control System - the somewhat bluntly named BNATCS. The briefing followed close on the heels of a $438 million contract Collins secured in January to begin replacing hundreds of the country's ageing ground-based radar systems. But that contract, it turns out, may only be the opening bid.

A System Running on Floppy Disks
It's not an exaggeration to say America's air traffic control infrastructure is overdue for a rethink. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been direct about it: "Most of our radars date back to the 1980s - it's unacceptable." Reports have revealed the system still running on floppy disks in some facilities, with controllers relying on paper strips in others. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has noted that many radar units have simply exceeded their intended service life, making them increasingly costly and difficult to maintain.

The January 2025 midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed 67 people, brought renewed urgency to the issue. President Trump threw his political weight behind an overhaul, and Congress subsequently approved $12.5 billion as an initial down payment through the "One Big Beautiful Bill" signed into law in July 2025 - part of an envisioned $31.5 billion total investment.

What is BNATCS? The Brand New Air Traffic Control System is the US Department of Transportation's sweeping plan to overhaul American airspace infrastructure from the ground up. The programme covers new radar systems, 27,625 new radios, 462 digital voice switches, 110 weather stations in Alaska, a new ATC centre, and eventually a Common Automation Platform to unify how controllers track and manage aircraft nationwide. Peraton was selected as the prime integrator for the programme in December 2025.

The Radar Contract: RTX and Indra Get to Work
The first major contracts under BNATCS went to Collins Aerospace and Spanish firm Indra in early January, tasking both companies with replacing up to 612 ground-based radar installations by June 2028. The current radar network consists of 14 different configurations - a maintenance and logistics nightmare - which the new systems are designed to consolidate into a single unified architecture.

Collins' $438 million share of that work will see it deliver two radar types: the Condor Mk3, a cooperative secondary radar that communicates directly with aircraft transponders, and the ASR-XM, a non-cooperative primary radar that tracks aircraft using reflected radio signals. Both systems are already operating within the National Airspace System and have previously been certified by the FAA - meaning deployment can begin quickly rather than waiting years for new approvals. Installations are expected to prioritise high-traffic areas first, rolling out progressively through 2028.

"As a trusted supplier to the FAA for more than 70 years, Collins is ready to rapidly deploy next-generation radar systems that replace outdated technology with a single, modern and interoperable solution." - Nate Boelkins, President of Avionics, Collins Aerospace

Indra, which was awarded a separate $342 million contract for the same programme, already has significant US operations and a manufacturing base in Kansas - with plans to expand further with a new Kansas City facility coming online this year. Together, the two companies form what the DOT has described as the "surveillance backbone" of the new system.

The Bigger Prize: AutoTrac and the Common Automation Platform
Replacing old radar units, while critical, is really just stage one. The most transformative - and most expensive - piece of BNATCS is the Common Automation Platform, or CAP: a unified digital brain intended to replace the separate legacy systems controllers currently use to manage terminal and en route airspace. Right now, those two worlds operate on entirely different platforms - the ERAM system for en route airspace and STARS for terminal operations. Collins' own Cedric Vigil described them bluntly as "separate stovepipe systems."

RTX's answer is AutoTrac - a platform with roots going back to the 1990s that the company has been quietly modernising into a candidate for the CAP contract. AutoTrac consolidates data from radar, ADS-B transponders, and other surveillance sources into a single interface, automating terminal, en route, oceanic, and surface operations simultaneously. Rather than stovepipes, Vigil described the new architecture as more of a "layer cake" - different functional tiers that can each be managed independently within one unified digital environment.

The practical upshot for controllers would be a cleaner, more integrated picture of the airspace with less manual data-juggling between disconnected systems. The system also uses intelligent filtering to surface relevant information and suppress noise, reducing cognitive workload at a time when air traffic volumes are rising. Crucially, it's also designed with the future in mind: Nathan Boelkins noted that AutoTrac can be scaled to accommodate the growing number of unmanned drones and eVTOL aircraft expected to share airspace in the coming decades.

A Strong Contender - But Nothing's Decided Yet
RTX enters the CAP competition with a significant advantage: Collins Aerospace is already the FAA's primary contractor for the STARS terminal system, meaning the agency's controllers know their technology well. The company also claims its systems currently help manage roughly two-thirds of global airspace - a remarkable market share that speaks to years of international contract wins. More than 550 RTX radar systems are already active within the National Airspace System today.

The FAA issued its request for information on the CAP back in November 2025, with responses due December 19th. As of this week, the agency has made no further public announcement on the selection process. The CAP contract is not funded under the current $12.5 billion allocation - Secretary Duffy has repeatedly pushed Congress for an additional $19-20 billion to complete the full vision, though he has faced pushback from lawmakers wary of handing over more money before the first phase shows results.

Why This Matters for Simmers
For flight simulation fans, the ATC overhaul is a fascinating real-world parallel to systems we interact with virtually every flight. The shift from fragmented legacy platforms to a unified automation layer mirrors what the best modern FMCs and flight management systems do on the aircraft side - integrating multiple data streams into one coherent picture. As BNATCS rolls out, expect to see real-world ATC procedures evolve in ways that will eventually filter through into sim updates too. If you fly on VATSIM or IVAO, the infrastructure underpinning the skies you model is getting a once-in-a-generation upgrade.

What Comes Next
RTX and Indra are expected to begin their first radar installations this quarter, prioritising the busiest sections of US airspace. The changes won't be immediately visible to the casual observer - but for those of us who follow aviation closely, the gradual replacement of failing 1980s hardware with modern, interoperable systems is genuinely significant. Better radar coverage, reduced controller workload, and improved weather resilience are the kinds of foundational improvements that eventually ripple through everything - including how real-world ATC procedures are modelled in the simulators we fly.

The bigger question - whether Congress will fund the full $31.5 billion vision including the CAP - remains open. What's clear is that RTX, with its deep existing relationship with the FAA, its proven technology, and its newly won radar contract, is positioning itself to be the defining contractor of whatever shape the new American sky ultimately takes.

We'll keep following this story as contracts are awarded and installations begin. Stay tuned to Sky Blue Radio for the latest from both the real and virtual skies.

Join the Conversation - Have you ever noticed real-world ATC procedures reflected in the sims you fly, or spotted a gap where the sim hasn't caught up with reality? Maybe you fly on VATSIM and have thoughts on how a modernised US ATC network might change online flying. Drop us a message on air, hit us up on Discord

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