Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that contract work for the modernization of the national air traffic control system could be awarded to just one single company, in a departure from previous comments from the Federal Aviation Administration that multiple companies would be needed to upgrade the system.
“We’re gonna have one great big beautiful contractor,” the President said during an April 30 cabinet meeting, just after criticizing the Biden Administration without evidence for allowing “hundreds” of different contractors to “fight with each other.” Trump said that Raytheon (now RTX) or IBM could potentially be awarded all of that work. “It could be any one of four of five different groups. You put one in charge, they’re very big, very powerful monetarily and they give you a guarantee and they hook up everything. They do every single thing, so they’re responsible for the digging of the ditches and the fiber, every single element and it’s one system that’s hooked in, it’s not these hodgepodge systems that don’t work together.”
A spokesperson for RTX declined to comment. IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A White House official told The Air Current it is closely evaluating various proposals that are currently being formulated, but that no decisions have been made.
Related: Thrust into national spotlight, aviation industry pushes for FAA budget reform
Trump’s comments were timely, given that the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee was simultaneously advancing a proposal to allocate $12.5 billion in fiscal year 2025 for ATC modernization which moved out of committee the evening of April 30 along party lines. The proposal is just one part of a larger budget package that Congressional Republicans are drafting under an expedited legislative process known as reconciliation.
“I don’t believe one company will be the answer. At best, an integrator, but still using other companies to do work,” an aerospace industry lobbyist told The Air Current, adding that they personally think using a single company is “a recipe for disaster.”
Continue Reading