The US Department of Defence (DoD) has awarded the US' Lockheed Martintwo contracts, each worth $87 million, to provide support to its military bases and foreign military sales (FMS) programme in the Middle East. The first calls for support and structural upgrades to a squadron of former US Air Force F-16 aircraft that were acquired by the Royal Jordanian Air Force under the government's Peace Falcon II FMS programme. The upgrade, known as a mid-life update (MLU), consists of enhancements to the cockpit, avionics, sensors and weapons, and is expected to extend the typical service life of the 17 aircraft to 8,000 flight hours. This would be equivalent to another 20 years of average active service. The first delivery of F-16s took place last year, and the modifications will take place in Jordan and at Turkish Aerospace Industriesfacilities in Ankara. Lockheed has also been awarded a four-year contract by the General Services Administration to provide IT support for the US Central Command (Centcom) at military bases in Bahrain, Qatar and the US. The $87 million task order calls for additional support to be provided to Lockheed by Titan, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Dataline, All Point Logisticsand TDS, all of the US.