AEDT 4b was released on September 16, 2026 and is the latest version of AEDT. For existing AEDT 3 licensed users who wish to upgrade to AEDT 4, the upgrade price is $170 for each existing seat license.
For existing AEDT 4a licensed users, AEDT 4b is a free upgrade. Please see the Pricing page for upgrade and new AEDT license costs.
All FAA actions requiring noise, fuel burn or emissions modeling and for which the environmental analysis process has begun on or after September 16, 2026 are required to use AEDT 4b (build 258.0.26722.1).
Guidance on the version of AEDT to be used is outlined in the FAA AEDT Version Guidance Memo.
AEDT Version 4b Highlights
AEDT 4b includes the following updates and improvements:
- Support for Microsoft SQL Server 2025
- Modeling of noise with structures (available for research purposes only)
- Microsoft.NET 10 upgrade
- Update of AERMOD, AERMET, and AERSURFACE to version 26135
- Point-specific fuel flow mode for helicopter fixed point profiles
- Updated LAMAX approximations for helicopters
- BADA 3 data encryption
- BADA 3.8 atmosphere model for lapsed weather from airport conditions
- BADA 4.3 aircraft performance methodology (note: BADA 4 dataset in AEDT 4b is version 4.2)
- Updates to estimations of non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) mass and nvPM particle number
- CSV import of aircraft profiles
- Ability to specify airport layout when importing operations using CSV import
- Airport, Fleet and Study database updates
BADA License Requirement for AEDT 4
If you are a new AEDT user, please refer to the AEDT purchasing steps in the Pricing page.
Existing AEDT 3 users do not need to re-apply for the "BADA license for AEDT 4" in order to upgrade to AEDT 4.
System Requirements and Specifications
The recommended specifications are listed with suggested minimums where applicable.
AEDT can be installed as a standalone application or as a client-server application (using a remote Microsoft SQL Server).
Administrative privileges are required to install AEDT.
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AEDT 4 System Requirements
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Minimum
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Noise Only
(Recommended)
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Emissions Dispersion and Multi-Airport Studies (Recommended)
1 |
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Operating System
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Microsoft Windows 11 (x64) |
Microsoft Windows 11 (x64) or
Windows Server 2022 |
Microsoft Windows 11 (x64) or
Windows Server 2022 |
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Processor
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Modern dual core processor with
2 GHz or higher clock
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Modern multi-core (>2) processors with
2 GHz or higher clock
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Modern multi-core (>2) processors with
2 GHz or higher clock
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RAM
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8 GB Memory
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16 GB Memory
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64 GB Memory or more
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Hard Disk Space
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100 GB Storage
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500 GB Storage
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500 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) for single airport emissions dispersion
4 TB or more SSD for large scale emissions analysis
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Microsoft
SQL Server
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Express Edition,
Version 2022 or 2025 |
Standard / Enterprise Edition,
Version 2022 or 2025 |
Standard / Enterprise Edition,
Version 2022 or 2025,
running on the SSD |
1 While it is possible to generate emissions dispersion metric results with less than the recommended configuration, the time required for those runs to complete may be significantly longer.
AEDT 4b Documentation
- AEDT 4b User Manual, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT 4b Technical Manual, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT 4b Installation Manual, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT Supplemental Manual: ASIF Reference, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT Supplemental Manual: Quick Start Tutorial, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT Supplemental Manual: Using MOVES with AEDT, dated 9/16/2026
- AEDT Supplemental Manual: Background Concentrations in AEDT, dated 1/28/2026
- Functionality Comparison AEDT, INM, EDMS, dated 9/16/2026
- High Level Comparison of AEDT and Legacy Tools, dated 6/3/2016
- Average Annual Day Addendum to the Guidance for Noise Screening of Air Traffic Actions, dated March 2013
- AEDT Version Guidance Memo, dated 3/18/2026
For Further Information
If you have any questions regarding the features of AEDT, please contact us at aedt-support@dot.gov.