The FAA is undertaking a “vendor challenge” as a new approach to streamline its next air traffic control upgrade project to modernize the system and meet congressional mandates.
Announced this week, the challenge requests responses by October 10 for the development of a new Flow Management Data and Services (FMDS) system that will replace the existing Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) used by controllers to plan and implement traffic flow initiatives to minimize delays and congestion.
Noting that the challenge is designed “to get the work done as fast as possible,” the agency is seeking a system that is modern, scalable, and sustainable, it said. “The new FMDS program will replace current technology that is decades old and struggling with performance and maintainability issues,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “If we want the gold standard of air traffic control, we need to give air traffic controllers the tools they need to succeed.”
Congress called for the agency to modernize its TFMS program in the 2024 FAA reauthorization bill. In addition, the upgrade is part of a larger initiative underway at the FAA to move forward rapidly on a new ATC system. The FAA had previously solicited interest for vendors to serve as a prime integrator in the overarching ATC modernization and expects to announce that contractor by November.