A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport plane lands at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in September 2026. Coordination between civil and military aviation typically takes place through phone calls and interpersonal relationships rather than a coordinated framework, leading to wasted resources and national security vulnerabilities. (US Air Force/Senior Airman Owen Davies)

Smart Skies, Secure Homeland

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The FAA’s “SMART” air traffic control modernization plan is a vital step in the right direction—but it must include better integration with military aviation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently launched the most consequential air traffic modernization program in a generation. The “SMART” program—Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories—went live over Washington, DC. It forecasts national airspace congestion and recommends rerouting aircraft before departure and in real-time mid-flight. It is a major technological advancement, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford deserve immense credit. 

However, the system remains incomplete. It misses one-fifth to one-quarter of our national airspace and lacks seamless, real-time collaboration with the military to ensure safety and national security.

The Department of War holds priority over 20 to 25 percent of national airspace. SMART still views this airspace through legacy tools, such as scheduled windows on a static chart, rather than real-time activity. When the military completes a mission and releases airspace back to the FAA, notification travels via phone calls. By the time information arrives, commercial flights have already taken longer detours around active zones. Across every military range, that delay adds up, by one estimate, to more than a million unnecessarily long flights a........

© The National Interest