Post by Logan on Jan 27, 2016 20:00:40 GMT -6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Pentagon officials on Wednesday sought to defend the use of Russian-made rocket engines to send U.S. military satellites into space, telling exasperated lawmakers they are moving quickly to end the practice and rely on American-made rockets for the launches.
But Air Force Secretary Deborah James and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall failed to stem sharp criticism from several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who view Russia as the chief geopolitical threat to the United States.
Led by the committee chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., they said using the Russian engines enriches President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and puts U.S. national security in jeopardy.
McCain, his voice rising at times, asked James and Kendall if they knew the names Sergey Chemezov and Dmitry Rogozin. Both are Russians targeted by U.S. sanctions, he said, yet their positions in Russia's space and defense industry allows them to personally profit from the sales of the Russian RD-180 engines. Each engine costs roughly $30 million.
Read more: bigstory.ap.org/article/b90fb05e49aa41338d1655d19e1b4f4c/gop-lawmakers-seek-end-purchase-russian-rocket-engines
But Air Force Secretary Deborah James and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall failed to stem sharp criticism from several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who view Russia as the chief geopolitical threat to the United States.
Led by the committee chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., they said using the Russian engines enriches President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and puts U.S. national security in jeopardy.
McCain, his voice rising at times, asked James and Kendall if they knew the names Sergey Chemezov and Dmitry Rogozin. Both are Russians targeted by U.S. sanctions, he said, yet their positions in Russia's space and defense industry allows them to personally profit from the sales of the Russian RD-180 engines. Each engine costs roughly $30 million.
Read more: bigstory.ap.org/article/b90fb05e49aa41338d1655d19e1b4f4c/gop-lawmakers-seek-end-purchase-russian-rocket-engines