WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — The Air Force has awarded contract work collectively worth more than $50 million to major defense contractors, to provide equipment for F-16 jet fighter aircraft and for intelligence support services to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson awarded a $46 million contract to General Electric Co.’s aviation business unit to provide advanced data transfer equipment for F-16 fighters. Air Force officials said 36 percent of the contract with GE Aviation Systems will support foreign military sales to air forces of European allies. Under the foreign military sales program, participating foreign countries pay for U.S. military equipment they buy as well as Defense Department personnel who support those programs.

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a unit of General Dynamics Corp., received a $4.7 million task order, under an existing five-year contract awarded in 2009, to provide image production, data analysis training, publishing and distribution services to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.

The center, located at Wright-Patterson, analyzes data from various sources to provide intelligence reports to senior Defense Department officials and the White House about aerospace capabilities and weaknesses of adversary countries. General Dynamics has been serving NASIC as a prime contractor since 2001.