DOD asks Congress to ease sanctions against Russian rocket companies

New York Times : Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted the US Congress to pass legislation preventing the Department of Defense from buying Russian rockets. Now, just five months later, the DOD is asking Congress to ease those restrictions. Since 2000, the DOD has purchased Russian rockets to supplement American rockets for launches of defense and security satellites. Although the request for the easing of sanctions has drawn strong criticism from some members of Congress, it is supported by James R. Clapper Jr, the director of national intelligence, as well as aerospace companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which have combined to form the United Launch Alliance (ULA). Currently, Russian company NPO Energomash supplies the RD-180 engines used in the ULA’s Atlas V rocket. ULA, which has enough engines to supply launches through 2018, also has a monopoly on national security launches.