Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System

The FAA has begun modernizing the computer equipment in the busiest terminal airspace areas. The newer equipment is called STARS, for Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System. The system's improvements will enhance safety while reducing delays by increasing system reliability and lowering life- cycle operating and maintenance costs. STARS also will accommodate the projected growth in air traffic and provide a platform for new functions to support FAA initiatives such as Free Flight. STARS offers many advantages, including an open architecture and expansion capability that allow new software and capacity to be added as needed to stay ahead of the growth in air traffic. Under the first phase of terminal modernization, STARS is being deployed to 47 air traffic control facilities. As of July 2005, 37 FAA and 22 Department of Defense sites were fully operational with STARS. The first phase is expected to be complete in fiscal year 2007. By then, STARS will be operational at 18 of the FAA's 35 most critical, high-volume airports, which together handle approximately 50 percent of air traffic. STARS consists of new digital, color displays and computer software and processors that can track 435 aircraft at one time, integrating six levels of weather information and 16 radar feeds.

For the terminal area and many of the towers, STARS is the key to the future, providing a solid foundation for new capabilities. STARS was designed to provide the software and hardware platform necessary to support future air traffic control enhancements.