The DOT Office of Inspector General has launched an audit of the status of the FAA’s Spectrum Efficient National Surveillance Radar (SENSR) program. The SENSR program is a cross-agency, multibillion-dollar infrastructure project intended to modernize aging weather and aircraft surveillance radar systems.
In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the DOD and the Department of Homeland Security, the FAA will lead the efforts to assess the feasibility of acquiring new surveillance solutions. The FAA plans to fund the development and deployment of new radars through the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015, which permits federal agencies to auction off government electromagnetic spectrum equipment and use the proceeds to fund new infrastructure.
“Given the significant investment, coordination and development efforts to procure, test and implement a new national air and weather surveillance system, the House Committee on Appropriations directed the DOT IG to examine program,” the agency said. “Accordingly, our audit objectives are to assess (1) the FAA’s actions to leverage work conducted by other agencies to reduce development costs and risks for SENSR; and (2) how the FAA plans to integrate SENSR into NextGen and the NAS.”
No schedule was given for when the audit is to be completed and a report published.