McCain: US should stop relying on Russian rocket engines
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain has said that the United States should stop relying on Russian rocket engines.
"Continued reliance on Russian rocket engines is unacceptable and it's time the Air Force conduct itself accordingly," the Republican senator told a hearing with senior Air Force officials on Wednesday.
McCain also criticized the Air Force for wasting a year “doing very little to end our reliance on Russian rocket engines.”
The criticism was made amid growing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.
"If the Air Force is unwilling to do what is necessary to meet the 2019 deadline, they are going to have to figure out how to meet our space launch needs without the RD-180," he said.
The US military is planning to cut its reliance on Russian RD-180 for launching military and intelligence satellites.
Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante introduced a plan over the issue.
The four step plan should be approved by the Pentagon in order to leverage both the US government and private investment into the development of new rocket engines.
According to LaPlante, Pentagon will approve the investment in the coming weeks.
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