Collins Showcases Vision for Common Air Traffic Control Platform

Collins Showcases Vision for Common ATC Platform

AutoTrac part of an array of technologies under development at RTX subsidiary Collins

RTX MARS common workstation — RTX’s Collins Aerospace is exploring technologies to offer combined air traffic management as well as simplified workstations that combine up to 10 functions on one or two screens.

By Kerry Lynch • Editor, AIN monthly magazine

March 26, 2026

While FAA and Department of Transportation officials outline a vision for evolving the air traffic control systems to a connected, common platform, Collins Aerospace is developing technologies that could provide a glimpse of what that might look like. Company executives did not say whether the RTX subsidiary has submitted to the FAA’s request for information (RFI) on a common automation platform (CAP), but they did showcase their own AutoTrac common platform that can provide a foundation for an array of connected air traffic management capabilities.

The FAA in November released its RFI for a potential CAP that will replace legacy equipment, combining systems such as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) and Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) into a unified system. Congress provided the agency with $12.5 billion to rapidly move forward with modernization, but that money primarily will update existing systems. Agency officials maintain that they will need closer to $31 billion to conduct such a massive overhaul involving a CAP.

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