FAA Installs New Surface Radar at Newark Airport

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford unveiled a new Surface Movement Radar-Systems Model 4 (SMR-4) at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) on August 11, 2026, replacing a 30-year-old legacy system.

The installation is part of a broader $30 million infrastructure upgrade at the New Jersey hub designed to prevent runway incursions and reduce delays. According to the FAA press release, the SMR-4 allows air traffic controllers to track aircraft and ground vehicles across runways and taxiways in all weather and visibility conditions.

Newark’s infrastructure modernization

The $30 million funding allocation for EWR spans a three-year period and targets critical technological vulnerabilities. During the summer of 2025, the Airports experienced severe delays that prompted the FAA to deploy Software patches, expedite fiber deployment, and rebalance flight volumes. To date, 90% of the airport’s legacy copper wiring has been replaced with high-speed fiber.

“Since the start of this administration, we have been working towards building a modern system that will serve America’s skies for generations,” Duffy stated. “From replacing Newark’s ancient copper wire to investing $30 million into new infrastructure and bringing new radar online, we are delivering real safety and efficiency enhancements at one of our nation’s busiest airports.”

The FAA has set a target deadline of summer 2027 for EWR to install new electronic information displays, upgraded voice switches, and a new long-range radar system.

National surface awareness rollout

The EWR installation is one of five SMR-4 systems deployed nationwide to date. The agency has accelerated its broader technological overhaul over the past year, replacing 60% of all copper wires in its national network and converting 363 radio sites. The FAA also transitioned 19 air traffic control towers to electronic flight strips and installed 151 IP voice switches at control towers across the country.

Bedford emphasized the operational volume driving the upgrades. “Newark sees well-over a thousand flights per day, and the new Surface Movement Radar will help controllers keep those flights safe at this major U.S. hub,” Bedford said, describing the deployment as a step toward modernizing the national airspace.

The push for enhanced surface surveillance follows a fatal runway incursion at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on March 22, 2026. In that event, Air Canada (AC) Express Flight 8646, operated by Jazz Aviation using a Bombardier CRJ900, collided with an airport firefighting vehicle on Runway 4. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed two pilot fatalities and 39 injuries. The NTSB is leading the ongoing Investigation, and no official cause has been determined.

In response to surface safety concerns, the FAA has installed 96 new Surface Awareness Initiative systems nationwide over the past year to provide controllers with better situational awareness.

AirPro News analysis

The FAA’s rapid deployment of 96 Surface Awareness Initiative systems and the ongoing SMR-4 rollout represent a tangible shift toward proactive technological intervention in ground operations. While the NTSB has not yet concluded its investigation into the March 2026 LaGuardia runway incursion, the agency’s aggressive timeline for replacing legacy copper wiring and installing surface tracking tools indicates that regulators are prioritizing immediate situational awareness upgrades for air traffic controllers. We view the $30 million targeted investment at EWR as a template the FAA is likely to replicate at other high-density hubs where legacy infrastructure limits operational capacity during low-visibility conditions.

Sources: Federal Aviation Administration