HAIFA, Israel, May 21 -- Elbit Systems Ltd. has been awarded a $16 million contract to upgrade the fire control computers of the Israeli Defense Force's Merkava and M60 tanks. Elop Electro-Optics Industries Ltd., a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, will perform the upgrade contract. Since the merger of the two companies El-Op has been assigned the overall responsibility for the Armored Vehicle Upgrades and Systems business area. According to the contract, El-Op will upgrade all hardware and software of the fire control computers in the tanks using state-of-the-art technology. The new upgrade represents the latest generation of fire control systems, which have been developed and supplied by Elbit Systems for the tanks since the 1980s.