The controller’s radar now has a co-pilot
the controller’s radar now has a co-pilot: the faa’s smart platform covers washington’s three airports and stretches conflict prediction from 15 minutes to two hours, after palantir was called in to spot runway incursions post-laguardia. europe’s sesar ai assistant validated with 16 live controllers at barcelona and lisbon.
the tower is moving from reaction to prediction.
Context
FedScoop reported on Sep 21, 2026 that the FAA debuted its AI-powered Strategic Management of Airspace Routes and Trajectories (SMART) platform in a limited mode in airspace around Washington, D.C. The Air Current (Apr 17, 2026) says the system involves Palantir and Thales.
SESAR JU said on May 20, 2026 that its ORCI project completed two human-in-the-loop validation campaigns of an AI predictive spacing tool for arrival sequencing.
The FAA platform launch around Washington and the SESAR validation campaigns match their sources. Prediction stretching from 15 minutes to two hours, Palantir's role in spotting runway incursions after LaGuardia, and the 16 controllers at Barcelona and Lisbon are not seen in the sources read, so unsupported here, not refuted. SESAR's tool is for arrival sequencing.
Related work
Watch next
- Read the SESAR page for the validation airports and controller numbers.
Sources
- FedScoop, Sep 21, 2026fedscoop.com
- POLITICO, May 9, 2026politico.com
- SESAR JU, May 20, 2026sesar.eu
Provenance
The note above is reproduced unedited from the original post, first published on Threads on 2 October 2026 at 08:02 IST. Sources are the papers and datasets the note draws on.
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