© Wikipedia
The US has ordered 20 additional RD-180 rocket engines from Russia, days after US Congress lifted the ban on the use of Russian engines to get American ships into space. However, the move has been lambasted by some politicians in Washington.
United Launch Alliance announced that it placed an order for more RD-180 rockets to be used by Atlas V launch vehicle, on top of 29 engines that the company has ordered before US sanctions against Russia were introduced over Crimea last year.
Under last year's National Defense Authorization Act of 2015, the Department of Defense is prohibited from signing new or modifying existing contracts for launches using engines designed or manufactured in Russia.
The move brought a fierce response from Senator John McCain, who accused Washington of double standards, saying,"This is the height of hypocrisy."
"How can our government tell European countries and governments that they need to hold the line on maintaining sanctions on Russia, which is far harder for them to do, when we are gutting our own policy in this way?" McCain said on Wednesday, as cited by the
Washington Post.
"How can we tell our French allies in particular they shouldn't sell Vladimir Putin amphibious assault ships as we have [told them], and then turn around and try to buy rocket engines from Putin's cronies?"
Comment: Is this move by Russia going to make life difficult for the US in Afghanistan? The Middle East battleground is rapidly expanding from Syria to Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.