Elon Musk said Thursday that Verizon’s efforts to provide a critically needed upgrade to the FAA’s air traffic control system is failing. And he said that it is important that Starlink, a unit of his SpaceX satellite and rocket company, take over.
“The Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly,” he said in a post on his social media platform X. “The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk.”
“The situation is extremely dire,” Musk added.
It was not immediately clear what FAA risk assessment Musk was referring to in his post.
Verizon has a massive $2.4 billion contract to provide a long-sought upgrade to the FAA’s communications system, known as the FAA Enterprise Network Services, or FENS, program. Asked about Musk’s statement, the FAA issued a statement saying “Regarding the FENS program, no decisions have been made.”
Earlier this week the FAA confirmed it is testing three Starlink terminals. Musk said those terminals were sent to the FAA at no cost to the agency or taxpayers at this time. He added that the shipment of terminals was done “on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity.”
Verizon said another company – not Verizon – is running the FAA systems currently in place.
“Our Company is working on building the next generation system for the FAA which will support the agency’s mission for safe and secure air travel,” said Verizon spokesman Rich Young. “We are at the beginning of a multi-year contract to replace antiquated, legacy systems. Our teams have been working with the FAA’s technology teams and our solution stands ready to be deployed. We continue to partner with the FAA on achieving its modernization objectives.”
The company Verizon mentioned as running the current FAA equipment, and the FAA, did not have an immediate reply to requests for reaction to the Verizon statement.
There is no dispute that the FAA’s various computer and communications systems are badly in need of an upgrade. A December report by the Government Accountability Office was entitled “urgent FAA actions are needed to modernize aging systems.”
The Verizon contract for $2.4 billion was awarded by the FAA two years ago. The agency said it is designed to “usher in a new era in national air system and administrative telecommunications.” The Washington Post, citing two unidentified sources, reported Thursday that the agency was on the verge of canceling the contract and giving it to SpaceX.
Musk appeared to confirm the Post report with his statement on X, which was retweeting an earlier post by someone else that said, “The FAA is on the verge of canceling Verizon’s bloated $2.4 billion contract and handing it to Starlink — a move that would bring faster, safer, and more reliable air traffic control services.”
Such a move could face legal challenges, as canceling federal contracts is a complex process that can take a year or more, the paper reported. It would be a large financial award for SpaceX at a time when Musk is leading Trump administration efforts to make massive cuts in federal spending, including staffing and spending at the FAA.
The contract could also raise new questions about conflicts of interest for Musk’s role recommending cuts in agencies with which his businesses have contracts or which have regulatory oversight of his businesses. The FAA is among the agencies that oversees the operations of SpaceX.
Air traffic safety has gotten a new focus from the public in recent weeks due to a series of crashes involving commercial jet, including the fatal crash of a military helicopter and a regional jet on final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a fatal crash that killed all 10 people aboard a small jet in Alaska, a Delta regional airline flight that flipped over and burst into flames upon landing in Toronto and a near collision on the runway of Midway Airport between a Southwest Airlines jet that had to abort a landing when a private jet improperly crossed in front of it.
The causes of all those incidents are under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and there is no indication that problems with the Verizon systems played any role in any of the incidents. But soon after the fatal crash in Washington, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that he had had discussions with Musk and that he was going to help the FAA “remake our airspace” and “do it quickly.”
CNN’s Pete Muntean and Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.
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