The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to deploy an $875 million AI platform called SMART — Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories — to help air traffic controllers manage congestion across the national airspace system1,2.
US government and industry officials told The Wall Street Journal that SMART could debut for the three major airports in the Washington, DC, area as soon as Monday, September 21. The limited regional launch is intended as the first step toward a nationwide rollout covering the 29 million square miles of US airspace the FAA oversees.
The FAA describes SMART as a cloud-based platform that enhances existing air traffic management systems. It uses AI models to assess airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions, and operational constraints to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur. The system is designed to advise — not replace — human controllers.
SMART was built by Air Space Intelligence and will cost the government $875 million over a 12-year period, according to The Wall Street Journal's reporting as cited by TechCrunch.
The FAA has been struggling to manage an air traffic control shortage throughout the country. The agency has signaled it is seeking technology-driven solutions to the problem, and SMART is one of the highest-profile responses.
Philip Mann, principal consultant at Vector Strategic Consulting LLC, who advises on aviation safety and AI governance and previously worked at the FAA in multiple roles for 17 years, called the decision to launch SMART in limited scope before going nationwide the "right call".
ANALYSIS The contract's 12-year horizon and phased geographic rollout suggest the FAA is treating SMART as core infrastructure rather than a pilot program. The scope of the eventual deployment, covering all US-controlled airspace, would make it one of the largest operational AI systems in federal government if fully realized.