U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
February 27, 2025
Dear Secretary Duffy,
Recently, you stated that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would be returning to “its mission of safety by using innovative technology in transportation and infrastructure” with “a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.”
I wholeheartedly agree with you. It’s time.
I started my FAA career in 1982 as an Air Traffic Controller. And for the next 33 years, I dedicated my career to making air travel safer for my fellow Americans. During those years, I saw countless plans to modernize our antiquated systems. These plans would take years to develop but would inevitably fail due to budget constraints.
I am encouraged that the current administration is making air traffic control modernization a priority and is willing to invest to bring the necessary changes. I am writing to offer my support, encouragement, and a few high-level recommendations:
1. Please request sufficient funds required to do this right. There has never been enough funding to invest in research, development, and implementation of new systems that could keep up with the pace of technology and air traffic. For example, the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system recently failed because the FAA was not able to devote the time and energy to rebuild it nor provided sufficient funding to do so.
2. You have asked to hear from patriotic companies committed to ushering in America’s golden age of travel. My current employer, BlueHalo, certainly fits that bill, as do several other defense tech disruptors across the country. But it’s a bad idea to turn this massive endeavor over to a single company. A consortium of the brightest minds across multiple different companies is required to upgrade and replace as many as 70,000 pieces of infrastructure.
3. An open architecture system is required in this modernization effort. The FAA needs to be able to utilize existing radars and sensors while adapting to new equipment, new technologies, and new aircraft—both crewed and uncrewed—faster and cheaper than currently possible.
Since retiring from the FAA, I have maintained a commitment to the safety of American airspace. At BlueHalo, I work with the Department of Defense (DOD) on Air Traffic Control (ATC) modernization efforts to develop and deploy our VigilantHalo system for military applications. The system is agile enough to meet the demands of our entire airspace.
VigilantHalo allows operators to use the same sensors used by legacy ATC systems while simultaneously taking on new technology, new sensors, and new data points as required – without disruptions. The system is designed to allow the use of advanced AI algorithms to analyze and display data from sensors on a ‘single pane of glass’, reducing the cognitive workload for operators in intense, congested conditions.
NextGen— the FAA initiative to modernize the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS)— includes a vision to modernize Operations, Infrastructure, and Safety Assurance. As a leader in airspace command and control and an American manufacturer of a full suite of layered Counter-UAS solutions deployed domestically and on frontlines around the globe, BlueHalo has the expertise to make the FAA’s vision a reality.
As we all understand the urgency of ATC modernization, BlueHalo stands ready to help the administration and the FAA navigate these critical updates.
Very Respectfully,
Stephen Lloyd
Senior Director
CUAS, C2 and Tracking Systems