* Playing the field: Only weeks after the US Congress broke the deadlock on $100 million in military aid to Lebanon, Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri visits Tehran and appeals for closer military cooperation with Iran.
* Red flag: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says China is not doing enough to restrain North Korea, calls for “significant penalties” against North.
* Scorpion’s sting: France’s DGA awards a contract worth up to EUR 21 million to a consortium of Thales, Nexter, and Sagem for the architectural phase of the EUR 10 billion Scorpion program to modernize the French Army’s 8 combined arms brigades.
* Closing the deal: Veritas Capital completes purchase of Lockheed Martin’s Enterprise Integration Group, a supplier of management and engineering services to the US DoD and other federal agencies, for $815 million in cash.
* What’s in a name?: Huntington Ingalls Industries would be the new name of Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding business, if the company chooses a spinoff rather than sale.
* English reserve: UK undertakes 6-month review of Reserve Forces as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review [PDF].