Modernizing Air Traffic Control Web Interfaces: A High-Stakes React Guide

A single millisecond of latency or a misinterpreted UI component in an Air Traffic Control (ATC) environment isn't just a technical bug—it is a critical safety risk. Most legacy ATC systems are built on aging Java Swing, Motif, or even terminal-based interfaces that have survived decades through "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentalities. However, as the $3.6 trillion global technical debt continues to mount, the inability to integrate modern data streams like ADS-B or real-time weather overlays into these rigid interfaces has become a bottleneck for global aviation safety.

Modernizing traffic control interfaces requires more than just a fresh coat of CSS. It requires a fundamental shift from monolithic, undocumented architectures to modular, reactive Design Systems that can handle high-frequency data updates without dropping a single frame.

TL;DR: Modernizing legacy ATC interfaces is notoriously slow, with manual rewrites averaging 40 hours per screen and an 18-month enterprise timeline. By using Replay, organizations can leverage Visual Reverse Engineering to convert recorded legacy workflows into documented React components, reducing modernization time by 70%. This guide explores the technical architecture of a modern ATC interface using React, TypeScript, and high-performance state management.

The Invisible Crisis: Why ATC Modernization Stalls#

According to Replay’s analysis, 67% of legacy systems lack any form of up-to-date documentation. In the context of Air Traffic Control, the "source of truth" often exists only in the minds of controllers who have used the same terminal for 20 years. When you attempt modernizing traffic control interfaces, you aren't just fighting old code; you are fighting "tribal knowledge" embedded in UI quirks.

The traditional approach to modernization involves an 18-24 month lifecycle:

1. •Discovery: Manual audits of legacy screens.
2. •Design: Recreating assets in Figma.
3. •Development: Manually writing React components to match legacy logic.
4. •Testing: Rigorous validation in regulated environments.

Industry experts recommend moving away from this manual "rip and replace" model. Because 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline, the risk profile for ATC is simply too high for traditional methods.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of capturing real-time user interactions with a legacy system and automatically generating the corresponding UI code, state logic, and documentation.

By using Replay, teams can record a controller navigating a legacy flight strip manager and instantly generate a production-ready React component library. This shifts the timeline from years to weeks.

Comparison: Manual Rewrite vs. Replay Visual Reverse Engineering#

Architecting the Modern ATC Interface#

When modernizing traffic control interfaces, the architecture must prioritize "render performance" above all else. A standard React application might re-render when a user clicks a button, but an ATC dashboard must handle hundreds of "Flight Track" objects updating via WebSockets every 500ms.

1. High-Frequency State Management#

Using standard React

for a radar screen with 500 moving targets will lead to catastrophic frame drops. Instead, we use a decoupled state approach, often leveraging Zustand or Redux with middleware to throttle updates.

typescript
// Example: High-performance Flight Track Store using Zustand
import { create } from 'zustand';

interface FlightTrack {
  id: string;
  callsign: string;
  altitude: number;
  latitude: number;
  longitude: number;
  heading: number;
}

interface RadarState {
  tracks: Record<string, FlightTrack>;
  updateTrack: (id: string, data: Partial<FlightTrack>) => void;
}

export const useRadarStore = create<RadarState>((set) => ({
  tracks: {},
  updateTrack: (id, data) => 
    set((state) => ({
      tracks: {
        ...state.tracks,
        [id]: { ...state.tracks[id], ...data }
      }
    })),
}));

2. Component Atomization via Replay#

The "Library" feature in Replay allows architects to extract specific UI elements—like an altitude squawk box or a weather warning indicator—directly from a recording of the legacy system. This ensures that the "muscle memory" of the controllers is preserved in the new React Design System.

Design System Mapping is the automated alignment of legacy UI patterns to a modern, accessible React component library.

Learn more about building Design Systems from legacy code

Technical Implementation: The Radar Canvas Component#

For the primary visualization layer, a purely DOM-based approach (thousands of

tags) is inefficient. We recommend a hybrid approach: a Canvas-based radar layer for the background and aircraft tracks, with a React-based overlay for interactive UI elements (Blueprints).

tsx
// React Radar Layer Implementation
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useRadarStore } from './store';

const RadarDisplay: React.FC = () => {
  const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
  const tracks = useRadarStore((state) => state.tracks);

  useEffect(() => {
    const canvas = canvasRef.current;
    if (!canvas) return;
    const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
    
    const render = () => {
      ctx.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
      
      // Render radar rings
      ctx.strokeStyle = '#004400';
      ctx.beginPath();
      ctx.arc(400, 400, 300, 0, Math.PI * 2);
      ctx.stroke();

      // Render Flight Tracks
      Object.values(tracks).forEach((track) => {
        ctx.fillStyle = '#00FF00';
        ctx.fillRect(track.latitude, track.longitude, 4, 4);
        ctx.fillText(track.callsign, track.latitude + 5, track.longitude - 5);
      });

      requestAnimationFrame(render);
    };

    render();
  }, [tracks]);

  return <canvas ref={canvasRef} width={800} height={800} className="bg-black" />;
};

Security and Compliance in ATC Modernization#

Modernizing traffic control interfaces is not just a UI challenge; it is a regulatory one. Systems must be SOC2 compliant and often require air-gapped or on-premise deployments. Replay is built for these regulated environments, offering On-Premise versions of the platform to ensure that sensitive workflow recordings never leave the secure perimeter.

According to Replay's analysis, the biggest security risk in modernization is "Shadow Logic"—undocumented legacy functions that are accidentally omitted during a manual rewrite. By using Replay's Flows feature, architects can map every possible user path through the legacy system, ensuring 100% logic parity in the new React application.

Solving the Documentation Gap#

67% of legacy systems lack documentation, making them "black boxes." When you record a workflow in Replay, the AI Automation Suite analyzes the video and generates:

1. •Technical Specs: Component hierarchies and prop types.
2. •User Stories: Step-by-step descriptions of the workflow.
3. •Test Suites: Automated Playwright or Cypress tests based on the recorded interaction.

This turns the modernization process into a self-documenting engine. Instead of spending 40 hours per screen manually documenting and coding, Replay delivers a documented component in 4 hours.

Discover how Replay automates documentation

Frequently Asked Questions#

Can React handle the real-time requirements of air traffic control?#

Yes, provided the architecture utilizes high-performance patterns. By using Canvas for the visualization layer and optimized state management like Zustand or Jotai, React can easily handle 60FPS updates for hundreds of concurrent data points. The key is preventing unnecessary re-renders of the entire DOM tree.

How does Replay handle legacy systems that are not web-based?#

Replay's Visual Reverse Engineering works by recording the screen output of any legacy interface—whether it's a Java app, a COBOL terminal, or a Windows desktop application. The AI then maps these visual elements to modern React components, effectively "web-enabling" the legacy logic.

Is it safer to rewrite from scratch or use Replay?#

Rewriting from scratch has a 70% failure rate in enterprise environments due to scope creep and lost logic. Modernizing traffic control interfaces with Replay is significantly safer because it uses the existing, proven system as the blueprint, ensuring that all edge cases and safety-critical workflows are captured and replicated exactly.

Does Replay support on-premise deployment for high-security ATC environments?#

Yes. Replay offers an on-premise version of its platform specifically for industries like Government, Aerospace, and Financial Services. This allows organizations to modernize their tech stack while keeping all data within their own secure infrastructure, maintaining SOC2 and HIPAA-ready compliance standards.

The Path Forward: From 18 Months to 18 Weeks#

The complexity of modernizing traffic control interfaces has historically been a barrier to innovation. The fear of breaking a system that "works" (even if it's inefficient) often outweighs the desire for modernization. However, with $3.6 trillion in technical debt weighing down global infrastructure, the "wait and see" approach is no longer viable.

By adopting Visual Reverse Engineering, ATC organizations can bridge the gap between their reliable legacy logic and the power of the modern React ecosystem. Replay provides the bridge, turning video recordings into the documented, modular, and high-performance code required for the next generation of aviation safety.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay