WHY WAS THIS FUNDED?

The FAA relies on outside technical experts to help design, study, and improve the national airspace system, which is too complex for the agency to fully staff on its own. MITRE's CAASD has served as a federally funded research center for the FAA for decades, giving the government access to specialized, long-term technical expertise.

WHAT PUBLIC PROBLEM IS IT TRYING TO SOLVE?

The U.S. airspace system handles millions of flights each year, and keeping it safe, efficient, and up to date requires constant research and engineering work. Without expert technical support, the FAA would struggle to modernize air traffic control, respond to new aviation technologies, and maintain safety standards.

WHO BENEFITS?

All Americans who fly on commercial or private aircraft benefit from a safer and more efficient air traffic system. Aviation workers, airlines, and airport operators also benefit from the improvements and technical guidance that this research helps produce.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Because this is a sole-source, long-term contract with a single nonprofit organization, there is limited competitive pressure to control costs or ensure the best value for taxpayers. The contract spans nearly nine years and nearly $745 million, making oversight and performance accountability especially important.

WHAT HAPPENS IF FUNDING IS REMOVED?

If this contract were cancelled, the FAA would lose a key source of long-term technical and engineering expertise that supports air traffic safety and modernization efforts. The agency would need to find alternative ways to fill that gap, which could slow down important aviation system improvements.

ARGUMENTS FOR

• •MITRE's CAASD has specialized aviation expertise built up over many years, making it uniquely suited to provide continuous, high-quality technical support to the FAA.
• •Long-term contracts like this allow for consistent planning and research on complex, multi-year aviation projects that short-term contracts could not support effectively.
• •Investing in aviation system research and engineering directly supports public safety by helping the FAA manage one of the busiest and most complex airspaces in the world.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST

• •At nearly $745 million over roughly nine years, this is a very large commitment to a single organization without clear evidence of competitive bidding, which raises questions about cost efficiency.
• •A long-term, sole-source arrangement with one nonprofit reduces the government's ability to bring in fresh ideas or alternative approaches from other qualified organizations.
• •The contract type is listed as unknown, which limits public transparency about how payment is structured and how the government holds MITRE accountable for results.