AIR SAFETY DEBATE OVER THE ALERT ACT CONTINUES
August 19, 2026
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The FAA recently took issue with a specific provision in the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (“ALERT”) Act as applied to military flights. While U.S. lawmakers broadly support the ALERT Act to bolster aviation safety at airports nationwide by increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (“ADS-B”) technology, the FAA cautions that a loophole granting certain federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”), broad leeway to switch off ADS-B equipment fails to ensure that all military aircraft are equipped with collision prevention technologies. If DoD aircraft are permitted to play by their own rules, the FAA worries that another fatal incident like the one that occurred at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last year could happen again. The FAA continues to urge House and Senate lawmakers to reconsider any legislative language which would permit DoD, in its sole discretion, to decide what anti-midair crash technology to install on its fleet.
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