June 08, 2016
It’s Time to Declare Our Independence from Russian Rockets
Last week, the Pentagon sent a letter to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., an influential legislator when it comes to American space policy. Within the letter, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, who is highly esteemed within the defense analytical community, stated that the Air Force lacked the flexibility to adopt a new rocket design based around a replacement for the controversial RussianRD-180 in the short term. Nor could the Air Force afford to use other rockets, presumably the Delta IV, as a replacement, given its fiscal constraint. He went on to say that unless the Congress authorized the additional purchase of RD-180 engines, the DoD’s space launch schedule could be pushed back up to two years, depriving the country of critical communications and presumably reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. Ironically, the letter included a plaintive cry from the wilderness to save America’s rocket industry, presumably by purchasing Russian rocket engines.
To read the full article, visit the Defense One website.
More from CNAS
-
The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World with Hal Brands
Podcast
For more than 100 years, the continent of Eurasia has played a central role in global geopolitics. In the 20th century, numerous authoritarian powers from Germany under Kaiser...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Hal Brands
-
Putin’s Fight Won’t End With Ukraine
Podcast
In an essay for Foreign Affairs, titled “Putin’s Point of No Return,” Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor
-
Trump’s Callout of Russia’s Vladimir Putin Is Raising Eyebrows
Podcast
President Trump is threatening sanctions and tariffs on Russia if Putin doesn't reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Some are surprised, considering Trump's affinity ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor
-
In Russia's Perceived War with the West, Arms Control is Collateral Damage
Commentary
Russia seemingly perceives previously established arms control agreements as elements of the broader Western-dominated political and security order that it aims to overturn....
By Nicholas Lokker
