WASHINGTON — This week, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration laid out an ambitious goal of bringing the U.S. air traffic control system into the 21st century.

"The whole idea is to replace the system," acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau explained to the House Appropriations Committee during a hearing on Wednesday . "No more floppy disks or paper strips."

It's a goal that has eluded all of Rocheleau's predecessors. Walking into many of the nation's air traffic control towers is like stepping back in time. Technology from the 20th century is still very much in use today — including, yes, floppy disks, paper flight strips , and computers running Windows 95.

More than a third of the nation's air traffic control systems are unsustainable, according to an FAA assessm

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