Officials say modernization will help manage drones, eVTOLs and safety risks but stress Congress must fund software
April 20, 2026 | Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Executive, Federal
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Reporters pressed officials on how the modernization would handle new entrants in the airspace, contractor AI, and a weekend safety event.
On drones and eVTOLs: NBC’s Fiona asked how electric vertical‑takeoff and landing aircraft would affect the national airspace. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said the addition of new vehicle types increases demand on an already constrained system and makes modernization more critical. "Today, it's just more demand on the system that's already constrained," he said, noting the FAA’s drone sandbox work and predicting larger commercial drone operations in the near term.
On AI vendors and funding: Politico asked whether the three vendors already doing AI work with the FAA have been named and whether money is available to start that work. Secretary Duffy said the names had not been announced, that FAA had some internal funds to begin work but the $12.5 billion appropriation is restricted in use, and that Congress must provide additional funds for software and common automation platforms. "We do need the next tranche for the software," Duffy said.
On Peraton’s claims about analytics: Peraton’s Justin Ciacio described ingesting millions of schedule and resource records and using automated analytics to flag supply‑chain and schedule risks. Officials described the tools as augmenting human decision‑making, not replacing people, but the briefing did not include independent verification of Peraton’s reported data volumes.
On the Nashville event: Scripps asked about two Southwest flights that had to take evasive action. Administrator Bedford called it an "unplanned event" connected to an unstable approach and a go‑around and said it did not meet his definition of a near miss; he reiterated that improved tools and more staff would help reduce such events.
On airline finances: Bloomberg asked whether DOT might consider intervention in Spirit Airlines; Duffy said the president had directed the department to review and that DOT officials would meet later with low‑cost carriers, but he did not provide details about specific interventions.
Officials closed by repeating a request to Congress for additional software funding and by pledging regular updates to Congress on schedule and risks. The briefing did not name the three AI vendors, and program numbers provided by the contractor and agency were not independently verified during the session.
On drones and eVTOLs: NBC’s Fiona asked how electric vertical‑takeoff and landing aircraft would affect the national airspace. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford said the addition of new vehicle types increases demand on an already constrained system and makes modernization more critical. "Today, it's just more demand on the system that's already constrained," he said, noting the FAA’s drone sandbox work and predicting larger commercial drone operations in the near term.
On AI vendors and funding: Politico asked whether the three vendors already doing AI work with the FAA have been named and whether money is available to start that work. Secretary Duffy said the names had not been announced, that FAA had some internal funds to begin work but the $12.5 billion appropriation is restricted in use, and that Congress must provide additional funds for software and common automation platforms. "We do need the next tranche for the software," Duffy said.
On Peraton’s claims about analytics: Peraton’s Justin Ciacio described ingesting millions of schedule and resource records and using automated analytics to flag supply‑chain and schedule risks. Officials described the tools as augmenting human decision‑making, not replacing people, but the briefing did not include independent verification of Peraton’s reported data volumes.
On the Nashville event: Scripps asked about two Southwest flights that had to take evasive action. Administrator Bedford called it an "unplanned event" connected to an unstable approach and a go‑around and said it did not meet his definition of a near miss; he reiterated that improved tools and more staff would help reduce such events.
On airline finances: Bloomberg asked whether DOT might consider intervention in Spirit Airlines; Duffy said the president had directed the department to review and that DOT officials would meet later with low‑cost carriers, but he did not provide details about specific interventions.
Officials closed by repeating a request to Congress for additional software funding and by pledging regular updates to Congress on schedule and risks. The briefing did not name the three AI vendors, and program numbers provided by the contractor and agency were not independently verified during the session.
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