en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has installed new Surface Movement Radars (SMR) at three airports as part of the Trump administration's "Brand New Air Traffic Control System" (BNATCS) initiative. The FAA stated that the new Surface Movement Radar-4 (SMR-4) being installed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) will be operational by late summer this year. MSY is the third airport to receive this upgrade, following San Diego International Airport and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

SMR is the primary non-cooperative sensor for the FAA's Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X (ASDE-X) and the newer Airport Surface Surveillance Capability system at major U.S. airports. These systems fuse data from SMR, ADS-B, Mode S radar, and multilateration sensors to provide controllers with a real-time view of aircraft and ground vehicles on the airport surface.

In September 2025, the FAA awarded Saab's U.S. subsidiary in East Syracuse, New York, a $267 million contract to replace old SMRs with new SMR-4 versions at 44 airports and three support facilities. The first new radar was commissioned at IAH on December 29, 2025.

The FAA also recently reported that the 100th facility—the air traffic control tower at Grand Junction Regional Airport in Colorado—has received a new Digital Voice Communication System (VCS). This VCS replaces a 1990s analog system, improving communication between controllers and aircraft, adjacent facilities, and internal telephone systems.

In May, the agency launched a new "Modern Skies" website to track progress on BNATCS, which is currently funded with $12.5 billion from the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to the website, the agency has installed 83 of the planned 220 new Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) systems at airport towers, achieving a completion rate of 38%. SAI uses ADS-B data to display surface traffic conditions at airports without surface radar systems. The FAA began installing SAI in June 2024 (during the Biden administration).

The "Modern Skies" website reports that under another component of BNATCS—the Radar System Replacement Program—4 of the planned 612 new primary and secondary surveillance radar systems have been deployed, accounting for less than 1%. The FAA awarded contracts to Indra and RTX in December 2025 to replace radar systems by June 2028.