---
title: "The FAA switched on $875M of AI, and 24 hours later asked for $30B more"
description: "SMART, built by Air Space Intelligence under a 12-year, $875 million contract, went live over Washington's three airports on 21 September, the same day a Philadelphia TRACON circuit failure and a severed backup fiber line grounded the Northeast. The next day, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked Congress for $30 billion more."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Policy & Labor"
published: 2026-09-29T23:34:32.754Z
modified: 2026-09-29T23:34:32.754Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-faa-switched-on-875m-of-ai-and-24-hours-later-asked-for-30b-more
language: en
keywords: "FAA, Artificial Intelligence, Air Traffic Control, Sean Duffy, Aviation, Procurement"
---

# The FAA switched on $875M of AI, and 24 hours later asked for $30B more

> SMART, built by Air Space Intelligence under a 12-year, $875 million contract, went live over Washington's three airports on 21 September, the same day a Philadelphia TRACON circuit failure and a severed backup fiber line grounded the Northeast. The next day, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked Congress for $30 billion more.

On Monday 21 September, the Transportation Department switched on SMART at Reagan National, Dulles and Baltimore-Washington: an AI platform that folds about 200 data streams, from weather to controller staffing, into one forecast of where congestion strikes next [1][3][8]. Officials stress it only recommends, and controllers can ignore every suggestion [2][9]. "It's always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America," Secretary Sean Duffy said [3].

United chief Scott Kirby called it the biggest delay-cutter "in decades," even as airline officials had reportedly been [confused for weeks about how the rollout would work](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/09/faa-tees-up-875m-ai-tool-to-help-manage-air-traffic-congestion/) [3][4]. Both the enthusiasm and the confusion landed the day the Northeast's traffic collapsed.

## The bill came due one day after the blackout

SMART runs on [a 12-year, $875 million contract the FAA awarded in June](https://www.govexec.com/technology/2026/06/faa-awards-software-ai-contract-air-traffic-control-modernization/414361/) to Air Space Intelligence, a Boston startup of roughly 150 people that reportedly beat [Palantir](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/palantir) and Thales to the job [4][5][6]. Congress had already put $12.5 billion into the wider overhaul in 2025 [5].

That same Monday, a circuit failure at the Philadelphia TRACON ran into [a backup fiber line a New Jersey construction crew had cut](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/us-halts-flights-at-busy-east-coast-airports-says-fiber-line-cut-at-construction-site/ar-AA2cHdLM): ground stops at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and Philadelphia, about 9,500 flights delayed or canceled, average delays of 112 minutes at Newark [7][8]. On Tuesday, Duffy said the department is "going to ask Congress for $30 billion" more, taking the program to $42.5 billion, and [the GAO says it still has no lifecycle cost estimate](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/duffy-ups-dots-atc-modernization-170000243.html) [8][9].

*Chart: **The modernization bill: $875M live, $12.5B approved, $30B now on the table** Bar chart comparing three FAA air traffic control modernization figures: the $875 million SMART contract now live, the $12.5 billion Congress approved in 2025, and the $30 billion Sean Duffy requested on 22 September 2026*

*Commitments and request for FAA air traffic control modernization, in billions of US dollars, on one scale. Contract award per Government Executive, June 2026; 2025 appropriation and September request per FLYING. The $30B bar is a request to Congress, not an appropriation. [5][9]*

## The crews under it were never asked

Representative Don Beyer, whose district holds Reagan National and who co-chairs the Congressional AI Caucus, says he was told controllers had no hand in SMART's design and no training on it, and were told the system "can adjust schedules and potentially even routes" [1]. The FAA "should not use my constituents as guinea pigs," he said, [demanding suspension until controller feedback and independently verified stress testing prove it safe](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/beyer-calls-on-faa-to-suspend-ai-system-for-dc-area-airports-guinea-pigs/ar-AA2cJIAH) [1].

The controllers' union says it was not involved [3]. Duffy himself said in April the system needed time to be deployed, debugged and trained on [6]. The stake is 24 million travelers a year through Reagan National [1].

## Advice only, for now

The advisory-only promise is a phase of the rollout, not a property of the system: Simple Flying's reporting expects [later iterations to start managing arrivals and intervals themselves](https://travel.yahoo.com/news/articles/faa-installing-controversial-ai-software-120000511.html) [2]. Who benefits is plain. The blackout handed DOT a closing argument for a $42.5 billion program, and the roadmap extends ASI's software into arrival work that belongs to controllers today [2][8][9].

FAA chief Bryan Bedford says the overhaul fails unless SMART expands with it, nationwide [9]. The tell is which gate the expansion answers: Beyer's stress testing, or Congress's appropriations calendar.

## Takeaway

The FAA's $875 million SMART AI went live at Washington's three airports on the same day a fiber cut grounded the Northeast, and 24 hours later Sean Duffy asked Congress for $30 billion more. Controllers say they were never trained on the system, and the advisory phase is only a phase.

## Sources

1. [The Hill (via MSN), Beyer calls on FAA to suspend AI system for DC-area airports: 'Guinea pigs', 22 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/beyer-calls-on-faa-to-suspend-ai-system-for-dc-area-airports-guinea-pigs/ar-AA2cJIAH)
2. [SFGATE (via Yahoo Travel), The FAA is installing controversial AI software in US air traffic control towers, 26 September 2026](https://travel.yahoo.com/news/articles/faa-installing-controversial-ai-software-120000511.html)
3. [Newser, AI Air Traffic Tool Rolled Out at DC Airports, 21 September 2026](https://www.newser.com/story/396805/ai-air-traffic-tool-rolled-out-at-dc-airports.html)
4. [Ars Technica, FAA tees up $875M AI tool to help manage air traffic congestion, 18 September 2026](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/09/faa-tees-up-875m-ai-tool-to-help-manage-air-traffic-congestion/)
5. [Government Executive, FAA awards software and AI contract as part of air traffic control modernization, 23 June 2026](https://www.govexec.com/technology/2026/06/faa-awards-software-ai-contract-air-traffic-control-modernization/414361/)
6. [FLYING Magazine, FAA Reportedly Snubs Palantir, Thales for AI-Based Air Traffic Management, 15 June 2026](https://www.flyingmag.com/faa-smart-ai-air-traffic-system-contract/)
7. [Reuters (via MSN), US halts flights at busy East Coast airports, says fiber line cut at construction site, 21 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/us-halts-flights-at-busy-east-coast-airports-says-fiber-line-cut-at-construction-site/ar-AA2cHdLM)
8. [Simple Flying (via MSN), US wants another $30 billion for ATC upgrades 1 day after northeast ATC meltdown, 22 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/us-wants-another-30-billion-for-atc-upgrades-1-day-after-northeast-atc-meltdown/ar-AA2cOKmk)
9. [FLYING Magazine (via Yahoo News), Duffy Ups DOT's ATC Modernization Ask to $30B, 23 September 2026](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/duffy-ups-dots-atc-modernization-170000243.html)


---

The FAA switched on $875M of AI, and 24 hours later asked for $30B more — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-faa-switched-on-875m-of-ai-and-24-hours-later-asked-for-30b-more