The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to launch an $875 million AI-powered software program called SMART, designed to help address the agency’s ongoing air traffic controller shortage, according to The Wall Street Journal. SMART, which stands for Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories, is described by the FAA as a cloud-based platform that enhances existing air traffic management systems by using AI to analyze airline schedules, weather conditions, airport capacity and airspace constraints in order to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur.
The system, developed by Air Space Intelligence, will cost the government the full amount over a 12-year contract period. SMART is set to roll out first in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area before expanding to additional regions nationwide.
The AI initiative arrives amid broader efforts by the FAA to address chronic staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, a problem attributed to a range of structural and workforce factors. Earlier this year, the agency announced a new hiring plan intended to eliminate the longstanding staffing gap, part of a wider push to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control infrastructure. The SMART program represents one of the government’s more significant AI investments aimed specifically at improving flight safety and operational efficiency amid mounting pressure on the national airspace system.
