* Obama administration’s fiscal year 2012 budget [PDF] boosts defense spending by $22 billion over FY 2010 appropriations, to $671 billion, while projecting $78 billion in “savings” through 2016. [Update: 2013 request.]
* Russia’s armed forces rely on aging equipment, lack transport capability, and suffer from manpower shortages, according to a NATO report cited in a leaked US diplomatic cable.
* Which is true now, and even Russian analysts agree. But Moscow is increasing spending, and roughly doubled annual arms exports from 2005-2010. Meanwhile, Germany’s Rheinmetall is about to build an Army training center in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
* Ceradyne’s new Enhanced Combat Helmet may be twice the price, but it looks like a 70% plus increase in head protection over the current American ACH design, with a new ability to stop close rifle shots. The USA plans to buy 200,000 ECH helmets, beginning in the fall of 2011.
* Canada’s DND freezes benefits for deployed soldiers and next-of-kin, but isn’t moving to end double-dipping by senior officers. Not exactly leadership.
* You can find it in those deployed ranks, though. Kudos to Canadian Master Corporal Shawn Grove, who taught himself Pashto and became a big asset to the Afghan campaign, without any help from his military.
* UK soldiers get new lightweight ration packs for troops on patrol under a GPB 140 million contract with Purple Food Services.
* Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush backs easing of high-tech export controls.
* Israel’s IAI looks to work with Bombardier as well as Gulfstream, unveiling a maritime surveillance Dash-8 mockup at Aero India 2011, and considering Airborne Early Warning planes based on Bombardier’s Global Express jets.
* 2 Thai F-16s crash during Cobra Gold 2011. The pilots are safe, and the country’s F-16 upgrade program should be unaffected.
* General Dynamics snags $9.3 million task order to perform network systems integration for the Marine Corps Systems Command under the $9 billion NETCENTS contract vehicle.
* Recent WikiLeaks revelations re: Saudi Arabia have reignited the peak oil debate. Joe Lazarro says we may or may not have hit peak oil, but we can say goodbye to cheap oil.