Washington, United States: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is set to begin a limited operational trial of its new Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART) system in the Washington, DC, area reportedly on 21 September 2026. The deployment is expected to be the first operational use of the AI-powered traffic-management system before any wider rollout. As of 21 September, the FAA has not published a separate newsroom notice confirming that the Washington trial has already gone live.
SMART is designed to help the FAA and airlines identify traffic congestion and potential conflicts before they develop. The system will analyse airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions and other operational constraints to predict traffic flows and support decisions on routes, departure times and other traffic-management measures. The FAA describes SMART as a planning layer that works alongside existing systems, with air traffic controllers retaining responsibility for safely separating aircraft.
The initial deployment is expected to cover the Washington region’s three major airports Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Airport. The first phase is expected to run for about 90 days, allowing the FAA and airlines to assess the system’s predictive performance before any broader deployment. Recent reports say the system will initially provide alternative-route information through existing FAA processes rather than introduce new procedures for controllers or airlines.
The technology forms part of a wider FAA effort to modernise the US National Airspace System. On 24 September 2025, the FAA launched a vendor challenge for a new Flow Management Data and Services (FMDS) system to replace its decades-old Traffic Flow Management System. The agency said the existing system had performance and maintainability problems and that the new platform would provide a more modern way to manage traffic flows.
The AI component became more publicly defined on 21 April 2026, when US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said AI would be used as a tool within the air traffic-control modernisation programme. Addressing concerns that artificial intelligence could replace controllers, Duffy said: “AI is a tool, but we do not replace humans in how we manage the airspace.” He added: “Am I gonna replace a controller and have AI manage the airspace? The answer is hell no, that’s not gonna happen.”
On 22 June 2026, the FAA formally announced that it had awarded Boston-based Air Space Intelligence (ASI) a 12-year, $875 million contract covering FMDS and SMART. The FAA said FMDS would become the technological backbone of the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center, while SMART would use the information to help prevent congestion and delays before aircraft depart.
“Every day, our air traffic professionals knowingly manage thousands of scheduling conflicts across the National Airspace System, which ultimately end up as delays for the traveling public,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said on 22 June. “FMDS with the SMART capabilities will help us address that challenge by improving how we manage airspace before flights depart, reducing congestion, easing controller workload, and directly cutting down delays across the system.”
Duffy said the technology would change how flights are managed, stating: “Once implemented, we will fundamentally reshape how the airspace is managed – slashing thousands of delays and cancellations in the process.”
According to the FAA, SMART will create a shared picture of schedules, weather, airport capacity and airspace conditions. The system is intended to identify constraints and conflicts earlier, when there is still time to address them, allowing traffic managers to consider different routes and timings before disruptions spread across the network.
The companion FMDS system will analyse flight plans, airline schedules and real-time aircraft position information to estimate current and anticipated traffic flows and capacity limitations. The FAA says it will also use predictive modelling to support localised rerouting around severe weather and improve the exchange of information between the agency and airspace users.
Bedford provided further details during his 15 September 2026 testimony to a House appropriations subcommittee, saying SMART would use AI to predict congestion and conflicts earlier and support adjustments to departure times, routes and timing at designated points en route.
The FAA’s current plan therefore does not involve handing direct control of aircraft to artificial intelligence. SMART is intended to provide information and recommendations while existing FAA systems and human controllers remain responsible for operational decisions and aircraft separation.
The first Washington deployment follows months of development and industry discussions. The FAA’s June announcement said initial operations would begin in fall 2026, without giving a specific launch date. The specific 21 September 2026 start date emerged through September reporting from government and industry sources rather than through an FAA announcement giving that date.
The Washington trial is consequently the first operational step rather than a nationwide launch. If the test proceeds as planned, the FAA intends to use the experience to evaluate SMART before expanding its use across the wider US National Airspace System.
