L3Harris Reports Over 70% Completion of US Airspace Communication Upgrade Following Outage

The contractor reported on the progress of the upgrade following the flight suspension

On Saturday, US aerospace and defense contractor L3Harris stated that it has completed more than 70% of the project to upgrade the communication infrastructuresupporting US airspace. The statement followed Friday's outage, which led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suspend flights nationwide, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and forcing airlines to restore schedules, according to Anadolu.

Project details and circumstances of the outage

The project is being carried out in coordination with the FAA and telecommunications partners and involves replacing outdated copper lines with fiber-optic technology. In a statement on social media platform X, the company emphasized that the conversion aims to modernize the network supporting air traffic control, stating that 'safety and reliability are our top priorities.' According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the incident is believed to have occurred during scheduled maintenance at a remote site where copper telecommunications lines were being replaced with fiber optics. However, officials have not yet determined whether the cause was a contractor error, poor installation, or defective equipment. L3Harris stated that it is cooperating with the aviation regulator's investigation and takes seriously the impact of the flight suspension on 'travelers, airlines, and air traffic control operations.' The FAA reported that the system has returned to stability, though airlines continued to restore normal operational schedules.