Lanterna Rally

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Published: 1999

Total Pages: 14

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We appreciate the opportunity to provide our observations on the status of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) implementation of the Display System Replacement (DSR) project. DSR, which replaces the controllers' workstations and other equipment in the nation's en route centers, is one of FAA's major projects under the air traffic control modernization program. In 1981, FAA began a multibillion-dollar modernization effort to improve the safety, the capacity, and the efficiency of this system to meet the increasing demand for air traffic services and to replace aging equipment. The agency plans to spend approximately $41 billion on the modernization effort from fiscal years 1982 through 2004. FAA has historically experienced some major difficulties in delivering modernization projects within cost, schedule, and performance parameters However, over the past couple of years, FAA has taken steps to improve its management of the modernization program. In particular, the agency has revised its approach to acquiring new systems by limiting their scope to manageable segments. Continuing with its new approach to modernization is key to allowing FAA to consistently deliver new systems within established goals. In this context, you asked us to address (1) the status of FAA's overall modernization program, (2) FAA's progress in implementing DSR, with particular emphasis on events surrounding Boston's implementation, and (3) opportunities for continued success by FAA in completing its modernization projects. GAO has a long history of reviewing the modernization program as well as individual projects, and this testimony is based on prior reports and testimonies