Rapid Fire: 2010-11-30

* Afghan poppy production down by half, creating heroin shortages on Britain’s streets. Pity. That pleospora papaveracea sure is potent. Nothing like having a lot of Taliban foreigners traipsing through the poppy fields, to ensure that outbreaks spread… * Closing the barn door: DoD tightens information security controls in the wake of WikiLeaks data breach. * Pentagon chief Gates seeks to trim US military health care costs, which total $50 billion per year. TRICARE has a number of serious problems, which must be solved to keep the service sustainable, and avoid gutting the future defense procurement budget. * Cybersecurity Down Under: BAE Systems acquires Australian cybersecurity firm stratsec.net for A$24 million. * Israel’s armor firm Plasan and Britain’s Q-Flo collaborate on TorTech Nano Fibers Ltd., a joint venture to produce carbon nanotube fibers. * Research and Markets: The 100 largest contractors account for 70% of US government contract spending. * MBDA/Eurosam’s SAMP/T air defense system uses Aster-30 missile, Arabel radar for Europe’s first ballistic missile interception. SAMP/T entered French service in October 2010. * Raytheon gets $43 million delivery order to supply 57 Common Sensor Payload electro-optical and sensor systems to the US Army. * L-3 gets $24.1 million contract […]