The US Federal Aviation Administration is seeking an ownership stake in Air Space Intelligence, the company building a new AI-supported air traffic management system for the agency, according to internal FAA documents first reported by Politico and detailed by AeroTime.
The documents say the FAA has drawn up preliminary terms for an investment and is negotiating a deal that would give the government the right to buy shares in the company at a set price. Those preliminary terms expire at the end of 2026. It remains unclear whether a final agreement is close. The FAA told Politico it could not immediately comment, and Air Space Intelligence did not respond to the outlet's request.
The arrangement would give the US government a financial interest in a contractor that has already been awarded work worth up to $875.9 million.
Two systems for managing traffic flow
Boston-based Air Space Intelligence won the FAA contract in June 2026 to develop two connected systems. The first, Flow Management Data and Services, is intended to help the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center balance flight demand with the capacity available in the national airspace system.
The second is called SMART, short for Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories. It is designed to spot congestion and recommend changes before aircraft depart.
The FAA began using SMART on a limited basis around Washington, DC, on September 21, 2026. According to the Department of Transportation, the tool combines about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing, to help FAA personnel anticipate problems and make decisions about traffic bottlenecks. FAA staff review its recommendations, and local air traffic control managers can accept or reject its scheduling suggestions.
Lawmakers want answers first
The investment talks come as the rollout faces pressure on Capitol Hill. In an October 9 letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, lawmakers led by Representative April McClain Delaney of Maryland called for a pause in SMART's use at Washington Reagan National (DCA), Washington Dulles (IAD) and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI).
The letter asked what safety evaluations had been completed, how the system would perform during severe weather or equipment outages, and what training personnel received before it went into use. The lawmakers also asked for details of the initial 90-day evaluation and of the standards the FAA would require before expanding the system nationwide.
"I'm calling on the FAA to pause this rollout, show us the safety testing, and explain who is accountable when something goes wrong," McClain Delaney said.
An unusual step for an aviation regulator
An ownership role would extend the Trump administration's push to take stakes in private companies into the field of air traffic management. The government agreed to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel in 2025, but an FAA holding in one of its own contractors would be an unusual move for the aviation agency, which both buys the technology and oversees the safety of the system it supports.
That dual role is likely to sharpen the questions already being asked by lawmakers. Critics of the rollout have focused on testing, training and accountability; a financial stake would add questions about how the agency separates its interest as an investor from its responsibility to evaluate the system objectively.
For airlines and passengers, the practical stakes are delays. Traffic flow tools decide when flights are held on the ground, rerouted or slowed to protect busy airports, and the Washington area, with three major airports sharing crowded airspace, is a demanding first test. Any decision on a wider rollout will depend on how SMART performs in its first evaluation period, and on whether the FAA can satisfy Congress on safety before it expands the system beyond the capital region.
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