The US air traffic control is still working on Windows 95 tablets and flexible tablets

Wednesday, acting FAA Chris Roshilo official He said The Committee for the Parliament’s credits that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace aging Air traffic control systemsWhich are still dependent on the flexible tablets and Windows 95 computers, Tom devices Reports. The agency has issued a request to obtain information to collect proposals from companies that wish to address the massive infrastructure repair.

“The whole idea is to replace the system. No more elastic tablets or paper strips,” Roshilo said during the committee session. US Transport Minister Sean Duffy described the project “The most important infrastructure project that we had in this country for decades”, describing it as the priority of the two parties.

Most of the air traffic controls and facilities are currently working all over the United States using technology that looks frozen in the twentieth century, although this is not necessarily bad – when it works. Some control units are currently using Paper strips To track aircraft movements and data transfer between systems using flexible tablets, while their computers operate Microsoft’s Windows 95 The operating system, which was launched in 1995.

As Tom devices also notice, the system update is very popular. Shieldon Jacobson, Professor of Illinois, who studied risks in FlyingHe says that the regime It works well As is the case, the upgrade is still important, according to NPR. The coalition of the modern aviation industry is pushing for the update of ATC and recently I issued an advertisement Shedding light on old technology.

While the old systems may be unintentionally protected from air traffic control of widespread power Crowdstrike incident Which is disrupted by modern computer systems in the world in 2024, Agency officials say 51 of the FAA 138 systems are not sustainable due to the outdated jobs and a lack of spare parts.

FAA is not alone in clinging to flexible disk technology. Train control system in San Francisco It is still working on dos Uploaded from 5.25 -inch flexible tablets, with no expected promotions until 2030 due to budget restrictions. Japan also In recent years To update government record systems that use flexible tablets.

If not broken?

The air traffic control system update is engineering challenges that just go beyond installing new computers. Unlike typical information technology promotions, ATC systems must maintain continuous operation around the clock throughout the week, because turning off the facilities for maintenance may offer aviation safety.

This operating time requirements removes the possibility of traditional system replacement methods as old devices are replaced during the scheduled stopping period. Replacement systems must also meet safety requirements to resist electronic attacks. A successful breach of air traffic monitoring infrastructure can cause national airline networks, which leads to successive effects that affect transportation, trade and emergency services.

However, not everyone is convinced that the planned comprehensive reform will achieve the required effects. in NPR report Regarding this issue, aviation analyst Robert W. Man Junior expressed doubts about whether the new systems will actually achieve.

“This has been the same Mantra over the past thirty years. Give them more money. They will build the new system. It will work better, and work hard,” Man told NPR. “We have done it more than 30 years ago, and we got the same results.”