FAA Awards NextGen Contract to Lockheed Martin

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin worth $344 million to develop and implement a new NextGen technology that will improve the efficiency of departures and arrivals, as well as the movement of aircraft on the ground. The new technology will save time for the flying public and lessen the impact on the environment by reducing emissions and noise. 

Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) will replace the paper flight strips that air traffic controllers currently use at most airports to share flight plans with electronic flight strips that will enable faster and more informed tactical decisions. The electronic strips will improve work efficiency, making it easier for controllers to accommodate traffic volume changes, bad weather and other evolving situations. 

With TFDM, the digital flight plans used to estimate arrivals, gate push-backs, routings, departures and overall airport demand will be shared in real time among air traffic controllers, aircraft operators and airports to improve the handling of more than 40,000 flights each day. The shared awareness of aircraft on the ground and in the air will enable arrivals, departures and surface flow to be managed more efficiently, providing accurate, predictive modeling tools to improve flight efficiency from gate to gate. 

Other benefits include improved aircraft traffic flow on the ground, which maximizes airport efficiency, reduced taxi-time delays, and enhanced safety through an increase in controllers’ heads-up time.