WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is surveying industry to identify qualified sources capable of manufacturing, assembling, and testing a new antenna control box as part of a broader effort to modernize terminal radar systems across the National Airspace System (NAS).
The antenna control box will replace legacy antenna control interfaces at FAA radar sites nationwide. According to the agency, existing antenna control hardware will not directly interface with next-generation air traffic control systems planned under the FAA’s radar modernization initiative. Each radar facility currently uses a single antenna control box to manage antenna positioning and monitoring.
Under the contemplated requirement, vendors would be responsible for procuring, assembling, testing, and delivering approximately 280 antenna control box enclosures over an estimated two-year period of performance. The system is intended to serve as a universal solution compatible with multiple antenna, transmitter, and receiver configurations.
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Obsolescence issues
The program also addresses obsolescence issues with azimuth position encoders used in airport surveillance radar systems. The FAA is seeking improved azimuth sensing and control technologies capable of supporting higher-resolution radar processing, including systems requiring at least 14-bit encoder precision for modern target detection and tracking algorithms.
Technical requirements outlined in the survey emphasize reliability, redundancy, and safety. The antenna control and azimuth improvement system is expected to meet a mean time between failures of at least 10,000 hours and support rapid maintenance with a mean time to repair of one hour or less. The architecture calls for dual, independent azimuth data sources, direct coupling to the antenna without gears, and minimal electronics at the antenna pedestal.
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The FAA has not yet determined its acquisition strategy and will use responses to the market survey to assess whether the effort can be completed on an unrestricted basis.
Industry responses will help shape the path forward for the antenna positioning and universal pedestal equipment control project, which supports continued operation and modernization of the FAA’s terminal radar infrastructure.
Responses are due by 30 January 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EST. The FAA noted the primary point of contact for this market survey is Patrick Weare who can be emailed at [email protected]. More information, including technical information, is available at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/525770dd89c24468b4fc152c8b9227f4/view.
