New FAA radars

[Paul Koning]

I just saw an article in a trade magazine about an FAA contract with Collins to replace the FAA radars, "as many as 612 legacy radar systems many of which date back to the 1980s". That certainly makes sense. The surprise is the timeline: "will begin this quarter and continue on a rolling basis through June 2028".

So just over 2 years for that job, that's impressive anywhere and absolutely astounding for government work.

paul

[Dave Typinski]

I wonder if these are primary radar or secondary radar. My guess would be
secondary radar.

As I understand it, most air traffic is handled by Secondary Surveillance Radar
(SSR) -- which isn't quite the same as what most people consider radar. In
addition to range and bearing, SSR adds a display of whatever data the
aircraft's transponder sends in reply to a querie from the radar station. It's
kind of a civilian version of the military Identification Friend or Foe (IFF)
system.

Still, I wonder, are there really 612 SSR stations in operation in the USA?
--
Dave

[Paul Koning]

> On Mar 5, 2026, at 4:23 PM, Dave Typinski <dav...@typnet.net> wrote:
>
> I wonder if these are primary radar or secondary radar. My guess would be secondary radar.

Both, actually. The article uses the terms "cooperative" and "non-cooperative".

> As I understand it, most air traffic is handled by Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) -- which isn't quite the same as what most people consider radar. In addition to range and bearing, SSR adds a display of whatever data the aircraft's transponder sends in reply to a querie from the radar station. It's kind of a civilian version of the military Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system.

Yes, that's the "cooperative" type.

> Still, I wonder, are there really 612 SSR stations in operation in the USA?

They mention a particular area for improvement being low altitude tracking for terminal area operations. So if we consider airport radars, en-route ones, along with a collection of "non-cooperative" radars, the number didn't sound outlandish.

Google says:
The FAA oversees a network of approximately 618 to over 750 ground-based radar systems that serve as the backbone for surveillance in the National Airspace System (NAS), supporting both terminal and en-route air traffic control. These systems include both cooperative and non-cooperative radar technologies.
...
Types: The network includes Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities.


More here.
https://generalaviationnews.com/2026/01/07/first-step-taken-to-replace-faas-radar-system/

paul

[Dave Typinski]

Very cool. This upgrade has been desired for many years by all who use the ATC
system and recommended many times by the NTSB. Glad to see something is finally
being done. Good use of tax revenue in my opinion.
--
Dave