SASC Hearing on Russian RD-180 Rocket Engines, January 2016

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) held a hearing on January 27, 2016 to further debate the issue of how many Russian RD-180 rocket engines may be obtained by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) for its Atlas V rockets that are used to launch national security satellites.   SASC Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) announced that he and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are introducing legislation to repeal a provision “airdropped” into the FY2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act allowing ULA to obtain an unlimited umber of those engines, after McCain’s FY2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) limited the number to nine.

The two witnesses at the hearing were Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall.  SpacePolicyOnline.com published a summary of the hearing on January 27, 2016.