Palantir, Thales, and other companies bid for the new AI air traffic control tool for the United States FAA.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States is secretly developing an AI-driven air traffic management software. Three companies, Palantir, Thales, and Airspace Intelligence, have been selected to compete in the project. If successful, this project could fundamentally change the operation mode of the US airspace system. The system, called SMART, is personally led by the FAA administrator. Unlike the current human-dependent, reactive air traffic control, the SMART system can plan and predict potential route conflicts in advance. The US Secretary of Transportation indirectly confirmed this effort for the first time in an event on April 17th. He stated that with the software, controllers may receive warnings one and a half to two hours before conflicts occur, allowing for early adjustments to avoid congestion on flight routes. This bidding process comes at a crucial time for the modernization reform of the US air traffic control system. Despite Congress allocating $12.5 billion, the FAA estimates that around $20 billion is still needed to completely overhaul the system. Therefore, the agency is seeking more advanced AI solutions to address the growing demands in aviation. FAA officials are expected to disclose more details about the SMART project on April 21st.