* Russia plans to significantly increase its defense budget, says Duma’s Defense Committee chairman Vladimir Komoedov. They are aiming for $97B or 3.7% of GDP by 2015. Possibly, if oil prices then are still high enough to support it.
* The US House Armed Services Committee (HASC) may see significant changes in its composition with the coming election.
* Booz Allen Hamilton to acquire ARINC’s Defense Systems Engineering & Support (DSES) division for about $154M in cash. Around 1,000 employees are involved in the acquisition. Meanwhile Safran is buying Goodrich Electric Power Systems (GEPS) for about $400M.
* Textron announced [PDF] Q3 revenue up 3.3% to $3B. Bell’s military deliveries included 11 V-22s and 5 H-1s compared to 9 V-22s and 7 H-1s in the same period last year, with a backlog down $434M from Q2 2012 to 6.3B.
* Thailand recently activated its TPS-77 3-D solid-state radar, joining several countries in the region using this long range radar from Lockheed Martin.
* Singapore’s Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen in response to a parliamentary question: “The US-China relationship is the most important relationship that will affect the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. […] Ultimately, Singapore is friends with both, and hopes that the US-China relations flourish.”
* Following legislation passed in August, Australia has ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
* The Indian Navy lost a Chetak helicopter and its crew of 3 as it crashed during its landing.