Air France and SIMMAD, the French Defense Ministry’s Aircraft Through Life Support Organization, have renewed the through life support contract for the fleet of four AWACS surveillance aircraft. These aircraft are being operated by the French Air Force for a further five years, effective 1 September 2011. This contract guarantees all-round aircraft support during Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) operations. Through life support covers the complete array of AWACS engineering support services. AFI KLM E&M will accordingly be responsible for technical and documentary support for the aircraft and its mission-specific systems, painting, and heavy maintenance concurrently with Mid-Life Upgrade work, maintaining the related engineering resources, and providing IT and logistics support services. Two related projects will also by continued under the terms of the contract, namely the digitization of all technical documentation, and the integration of airworthiness monitoring into the AWACS computer systems. Olivier Dugast, SIMMAD Fleet Manager for Operational Support Aircraft highlighted the importance of “having a single approved operator responsible for one-stop support for both the AWACS fleet’s aircraft and their on-board systems by carrying out the modifications required by the MLU.”