The nation's aging air traffic control system will be replaced with one that is aimed at 21st-century needs while improving safety, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday.

The current ATC system "is based on an outdated technologies that are unable to meet" modern demands, an administration statement said.

Officials did not provide an exact cost estimate but said it would require billions of dollars to put in place. They said a $12.5 billion budget proposal that a House committee drafted last week represents a solid “down payment” on the plan, which was developed after the deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., in January.