Rapid Fire 2011-02-16: FY 2011/12 DoD Budgets

* What about FY 2011?: While the Pentagon is asking for $671 billion in FY 2012 (DoD Comptroller breakdown), Gates tells Congress, “We need $540 billion in FY 2011!” * The Russian Defense Ministry grounds its fleet of Mi-28 attack helicopters after an Mi-28N Night Hunter crashed in Stavropol, killing the pilot. * I’ll be baaack: The worldwide military robotics market is expected to explode over the next 5 years, reaching $8 billion in 2016, compared with $5.8 billion in 2010, according to ABI Research. * The Air Force selects Balfour Beatty Communities to privatize family housing at four bases in the Western US, a deal with a potential value of over $330 million. * Vigor Industrial closes on its $130 million acquisition of Todd Shipyards, a Seattle-based military and commercial shipbuilder. * Prime contractor BAE Systems and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard complete pump and valve repair work on the guided-missile frigate USS Reuben James (FFG-57) using an airtight cofferdam on the underwater hull, instead of drydocking the ship.