FAA Contract Spending Up 48% as Radio/Comms Vendors Lead
Summary
The Federal Aviation Administration obligated $2.41 billion in contracts in FY2026 Q3 (Apr-Jun 2026), up 47.5% year-over-year from $1.63 billion. Three radio and air-traffic-communications vendors -- Harris Corporation ($322.2M), Rohde & Schwarz USA ($222.3M) and Frequentis USA ($115.5M) -- together took $660.0M, or 27.4% of the quarter. Harris's share runs through the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) network contract.
The figures come from USAspending.gov, the Treasury system of record for federal awards, filtered to the and the four contract action types. Three radio and air-traffic-communications vendors led the quarter: Harris Corporation ($322.2M), Rohde & Schwarz USA ($222.3M) and Frequentis USA ($115.5M) -- $660.0M combined, 27.4% of everything the obligated.
View data as table
| FY2025 Q3 | 1.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 Q3 | 2.4 | +47.5% year over year |
View data as table
| Harris Corporation | 322.2 | FTI telecommunications -- 13% of the total |
|---|---|---|
| Rohde & Schwarz USA | 222.3 | air-traffic radiocommunications |
| Frequentis USA | 115.5 | voice communications (VCS) |
| All other recipients | 1,747.9 | every other FAA vendor combined |
Harris's $322.2M runs through the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) contract -- delivery orders under IDV vehicle DTFA0102D03006 that "add funding for FTI telecommunications services." Frequentis's leading award is Project LIFT, a letter contract to modernize the 's Voice Communications System. Both anchor the trend: this quarter's money is disproportionately the network and voice systems that carry air-traffic control.
- The obligated $2.41B in contracts in FY2026 Q3 (Apr-Jun 2026), up 47.5% from $1.63B in the year-earlier quarter -- a $775.8M increase.
- Three radio/comms vendors -- Harris ($322.2M), Rohde & Schwarz USA ($222.3M) and Frequentis USA ($115.5M) -- took $660.0M, or 27.4% of the quarter.
- Harris is the single largest recipient at 13% of the total; its money flows through the Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) contract, IDV DTFA0102D03006.
- Every vendor outside the top three combined received about $1.75B. Figures are recomputable from the USAspending API queries in the sources.
Obligations cover contract award types A/B/C/D ( calls, purchase orders, delivery orders, definitive contracts) by action date, summed at the transaction level with spending_level set explicitly. The is queried as a subtier agency of the Department of Transportation. A related recipient, L3Harris Technologies, appears separately at $72.7M and is not counted in the Harris trio total. The "radio/communications" characterization is grounded in the vendors' award descriptions -- Harris FTI telecommunications, Frequentis Voice Communications System modernization -- and Rohde & Schwarz's air-traffic radiocommunications line. Every figure is recomputable from the exact USAspending API queries recorded in the sources. This is a held draft prepared for editor review.
Sources(4) ▾
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov Award Search API — Spending Over Time (FAA contract obligations, by fiscal quarter) (2026-08-14) — Federal Aviation Administration contract obligations grouped by fiscal quarter. Recomputable POST query (issuer-hosted API): {"group":"quarter","spending_level":"transactions","filters":{"agencies":[{"type":"awarding","tier":"subtier","name":"Federal Aviation Administration"}],"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2024-10-01","end_date":"2026-06-30"}]}}. spending_level MUST be "transactions" to sum obligation amounts by action date; the endpoint default shifted during the pull and returns a partial total if omitted. The is a subtier agency of the Department of Transportation, so tier is "subtier". Establishes FY2026 Q3 (Apr-Jun 2026) contract obligations of $2,407,919,964.67 versus FY2025 Q3 (Apr-Jun 2025) of $1,632,117,618.96. A live POST-only API; exact request body recorded here for reproduction. api.usaspending.gov
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov Award Search API — Spending by Recipient (FAA contract obligations, FY2026 Q3) (2026-08-14) — contract obligations for the FY2026 Q3 window (Apr-Jun 2026), broken out by recipient. Recomputable POST query: {"category":"recipient","spending_level":"transactions","filters":{"agencies":[{"type":"awarding","tier":"subtier","name":"Federal Aviation Administration"}],"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2026-04-01","end_date":"2026-06-30","date_type":"action_date"}]},"limit":10}. Establishes the three leading recipients: Harris Corporation $322,165,150.68; Rohde & Schwarz USA, Inc. $222,340,617.01; Frequentis USA, Inc $115,502,510.74. (A related recipient, L3Harris Technologies, appears separately at $72,702,502.97 and is not counted in the trio.) A live POST-only API; exact request body recorded here for reproduction. api.usaspending.gov
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Award detail, Harris Corporation FTI delivery order (PIID 693KA821F00222) (2026-08-14) — Award detail for a Harris Corporation FTI delivery order (description 'THE PURPOSE OF THIS DELIVERY ORDER AWARD IS TO ADD FUNDING FOR FTI TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES', cumulative total_obligation $2,121,046,270.48). Its parent vehicle is IDV PIID DTFA0102D03006 -- the Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) contract. Harris's FY2026 Q3 obligations are anchored by FTI funding delivery orders under this same DTFA0102D03006 vehicle (e.g. CALL0016, 'ADD FUNDING FOR...FTI'). Machine-readable via GET https://api.usaspending.gov/api/v2/awards/CONT_AWD_693KA821F00222_6920_DTFA0102D03006_6920/ (fields: recipient.recipient_name, description, total_obligation, parent_award.piid). usaspending.gov
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov Award Search API — Spending by Award (Frequentis USA FAA awards, FY2026 Q3) (2026-08-14) — Frequentis USA's contract awards active in the FY2026 Q3 window. Recomputable POST query: {"filters":{"recipient_search_text":["FREQUENTIS USA"],"agencies":[{"type":"awarding","tier":"subtier","name":"Federal Aviation Administration"}],"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2026-04-01","end_date":"2026-06-30","date_type":"action_date"}]},"fields":["Award ID","Description","Award Amount"],"sort":"Award Amount","order":"desc","limit":4}. The top award (693KA825C00011) is described 'PROJECT LIFT VCS LETTER CONTRACT FOR MODERNIZATION OF VCS' (Voice Communications System); others cover 'AIR-TO-GROUND PROTOCOL' support and a 'HIGH-CAPACITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCING SYSTEM' -- confirming Frequentis's work is air-traffic voice/communications. A live POST-only API; exact request body recorded here for reproduction. api.usaspending.gov
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The Federal Aviation Administration obligated $2.41 billion in contracts in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (April-June 2026), up 47.5% from $1.63 billion a year earlier.