Digital Towers
What is a Digital Tower?
A digital tower is a technology-enabled alternative to a traditional air traffic control tower. Instead of relying on windows to see aircraft, vehicles and activity on the airfield, controllers use high-definition cameras, digital displays, and sensors to view airport operations in real time. This technology provides controllers with a continuous, panoramic view of the airfield and surrounding areas, along with visual information that helps them monitor aircraft movements, identify potential hazards, and maintain situational awareness.
Benefits of Digital Towers
- Digital tower systems include advanced visual tools such as automatic target detection, aircraft data tags, infrared cameras, and enhanced low-light visibility.
- Digital towers offer cost-effective alternative to constructing traditional towers, which may expand access to air traffic control services at rural and community airports.
How do Digital Towers Work?
Digital tower systems display a real-time, continuous 360-degree view of the airfield and the surrounding airspace on a video wall in a control center. In addition, the system captures and reproduces real-time ambient airfield audio in the control room, allowing controllers to hear sounds from the airfield.
To be approved for use by Federal Contract Towers (FCTs) in the U.S., a digital tower system must demonstrate that it meets FAA functional, performance, and operational visual requirements, including requirements addressing equipment failures. Evaluations assess system performance against established acceptance criteria. For example, evaluators measure the delay between an airfield event and its appearance on controller displays to verify that the imagery is timely enough to support safe air traffic control operations.
Background
Testing on the approved digital tower system occurred primarily at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace in Atlantic City, NJ, and focused on visual capabilities for controllers, workstation layout, how controllers respond to equipment failure, and the suitability of training materials. The FAA also conducted system design reviews to ensure the system met functional, performance, and safety requirements.
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2018 | The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 first directed the FAA to create a pilot program to test digital towers as a lower-cost option to conventional air traffic control towers. Testing on several proposed systems began in 2018. |
| 2022 | Raytheon/Frequentis installed a prototype digital tower system at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY), NJ, for additional evaluation. |
| 2024 | The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 then mandated that the FAA establish a clear framework and timeline for approving and deploying digital towers. Additionally, the Working Families Tax Act allocated $50 million to advance digital towers at qualified non-towered airports as part of the FAA Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) initiative. |
| 2025 | The Working Families Tax act allocates $50 million to advance digital towers at qualified non-towered airports. |
| September 2026 | FAA issued the first System Design Approval (SDA) to Frequentis’s smartVISION Digital Tower System for use at sponsor-owned FCT airports with a single runway and Class D airspace. |
| September 2026 | The first operational Non-Federal Control Tower (NFCT) digital tower system goes operational at Bartow Executive Airport (BOW) in Florida. |
To achieve approval for use at sponsor-owned FCTs within the NAS, a proposed digital tower system must obtain the FAA’s System Design Approval (SDA), requiring a rigorous safety and compliance evaluation process, which typically spans approximately 24 to 36 months, depending on the maturity of the product and the engineering processes and documentation that supported its development.
Manufacturers must submit their proposed digital tower system design to the FAA using the guidance on required documentation found in the draft Advisory Circular: RTS for Non-Federal Applications. If the proposed design is eligible for review, the FAA will coordinate to begin SDA reviews and evaluation of its operational capabilities at the agency’s William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace. This evaluation will allow the FAA to provide an independent assessment of the systems in a robust operational environment.
If you are interested in requesting approval of your system, contact the ASDS Team at Non-Federal-Program@faa.gov.
Once an applicant successfully completes the SDA evaluation process, airport sponsors can select approved digital tower designs for their airport after meeting essential prerequisites regarding site commissioning and public-use operation.
FAA-approved digital tower systems are now approved for use in Class D airspace in single-runway airport environments in the NAS. Digital tower systems are used in conjunction with the tower equipment specified in the following documents:
- Advisory Circular (AC) 90-93 contains the operating procedures for non-Federal ATCT.
- FAA Order JO 7210.78, Appendix A, contains The Minimum Equipment List (MEL).
This combination of equipment supports controllers in providing safe and efficient air traffic services in accordance with FAA Order JO 7110.65, Air Traffic Control, and FAA Order JO 7210.3, Facility Operation and Administration.
Please contact your Non-Federal Program Implementation Manager for further information.
Resources
- Process Documents:
- Concept of Operations (Version 1.0 – April 7, 2020)
- Advisory Circular (Draft Version 3.0 – February 18, 2022)
- Safety Documents:
- Operational Safety Assessment (OSA) for Single-RWY Class D Environments (Version 2.7 - April 1, 2021)
- Allocation Report: RTS for Non-Federal Applications for Single-RWY Class D Environments (Version 1.3 – September 16, 2021)
- Requirements Documents:
- Operational Visual Requirements (OVRs) (Draft Version 2.1 – Jan. 10, 2023)
- RT System Technical Requirements (Draft Version 5.0 – June 2024)