United States Department of Transportation
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Air Traffic Control: Evolution and Status of FAA's Automation Program
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1998-03-05
[PDF-66.80 KB]
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Abstract:We are pleased to be here today to discuss the air traffic control (ATC) automation program of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Automation and other functional areas such as communications, navigation, and surveillance are the main elements of FAA’s overall plan for modernizing the air traffic control system. The automation program, which began in the early 1980s, involves FAA’s acquisition of modern workstations and computers that process radar and flight data for controllers’ use. Because of severe cost, schedule, and technical problems, FAA restructured the automation program in 1994. The Advanced Automation System (AAS) project, divided into 5 separate segments, was the centerpiece of the program before its 1994 restructuring. In 1983, FAA estimated the cost to develop AAS to be $2.5 billion and completion was scheduled for 1996. When International Business Machines (IBM) was awarded a development contract in 1988, after a 4-year design competition, FAA estimated the project would cost $4.8 billion and be completed in 1998. By 1994, when FAA restructured the automation program, FAA estimated the cost to develop AAS to be as much as $7.6 billion with completion as late as 2003. As part of the restructured program, FAA is undertaking major acquisitions for two segments of AAS—the Display System Replacement (DSR) and Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). FAA estimates that these acquisitions will each cost about $1 billion to develop and will be completed by 2000 and 2005, respectively. FAA will also have to undertake other major acquisitions to provide all needed capabilities that had been promised under AAS. Our testimony today, as requested by your Subcommittee, will focus on (1) how the automation program has evolved from the initial program to the current one, (2) to what extent FAA has had to implement costly interim projects to sustain the older equipment, and (3) whether the ongoing acquisitions are achieving their cost and schedule goals.
In the 1994 restructuring, FAA cancelled segments of its initial automation program, scaled back others, and ordered the development of less costly alternatives. FAA still plans to replace the aging equipment that is increasingly difficult to maintain and to provide a basis for adding new Page 1 GAO/T-RCED/AIMD-98-85 capabilities at a later date. One of the cancelled segments from the initial program would have addressed hardware maintenance problems that are now emerging with the mainframe computer—referred to as the Host—at FAA’s facilities that control air traffic at higher altitudes. The agency expects to incur costs of about $160 million during fiscal years 1998 and 1999 to replace the mainframe computer hardware. As a result of the longstanding history of schedule delays in the automation program, FAA has added four interim projects—costing about $655 million—to sustain and enhance current automated equipment. Almost all of FAA’s facilities that control air traffic at lower altitudes near airports will be upgraded through these interim projects. FAA has had mixed results in achieving its cost and schedule goals for the two major ongoing acquisitions in its restructured automation program. The Display System Replacement is within budget and on schedule. However, the Standard Terminal Automated Replacement System will likely have schedule delays of at least 6 months largely because software development has taken longer than expected and the agency and the contractor lack sufficient time to perform needed testing.
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