American defense and technology firm Leidos has signed a landmark contract with Kazaeronavigatsia, Kazakhstan’s national air navigation service provider, to modernize the country’s entire air traffic management system. The agreement, announced on October 8, 2025, carries a 19 year period of performance and covers four air traffic control centers and 21 towers across Kazakhstan. It represents the largest US technology contract ever signed in Kazakhstan’s civil aviation sector and comes as the country prepares for a projected doubling of passenger volumes within five years.
At the core of the deal is Leidos’s SkyLine X Air Traffic Management system, a platform that provides end to end surveillance, improved safety protocols, and streamlined operations through a common automation architecture designed to be modular and adaptable for future needs. The contract includes a comprehensive hardware refresh of existing infrastructure at Kazaeronavigatsia, alongside full installation, deployment, testing, and staff training programs to commission the new system at all four control centers.
Kazakhstan aviation sector on course for rapid growth
The scale of the Leidos contract reflects the trajectory of Kazakhstan’s civil aviation market. The country’s passenger traffic is expected to rise from approximately 15 million in 2025 to 26 million by 2030, with the civil aircraft fleet projected to more than double during the same period. Kazakhstan has also announced plans to add 81 new international destinations, reflecting the country’s ambition to position itself as Central Asia’s primary aviation hub. This growth context makes ATC modernization not a discretionary upgrade but a core requirement for safe and efficient operations at scale.
Faat Bogdashkin, Director General of Kazaeronavigatsia, highlighted the depth of the existing US Kazakhstan aviation technology relationship: Leidos has provided support to Kazakhstan’s aviation operations for more than 20 years. This new agreement, he said, reflects a shared confidence in continuing and deepening that partnership to handle a fundamentally different volume and complexity of air traffic than the system was originally built for.
US technology presence in Central Asian critical infrastructure
The Leidos contract sits within a broader pattern of US technology firms securing long term operational roles in Kazakhstan’s critical infrastructure. At the November 2025 C5+1 Summit, Leidos was separately recognized in the US Commerce Department’s Deal Zone announcements alongside John Deere, Boeing, and Wabtec as one of the flagship US commercial partners in the region. A 19 year contract gives Leidos deep institutional integration with Kazakhstan’s air navigation authority, creating a structural commercial relationship that extends well beyond the current political cycle in both countries.
For Washington, the strategic value of the Leidos contract goes beyond its commercial dimensions. Air traffic management systems are critical infrastructure with both civilian and dual use implications. Securing a US firm in that role for nearly two decades reduces the likelihood that Russian or Chinese systems will fill the same function, a priority that has become increasingly explicit in the C5+1 framework’s emphasis on trusted technology partners. Kazakhstan’s aviation sector, which is projected to grow faster than most regional markets, thus becomes an anchor point for lasting US technology engagement in Central Asia.
