The House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee will recommend additional funding in the defense authorization bill for a replacement to Russia’s RD-180 rocket engine, a staffer said April 22 during a background briefing with reporters.In years past, the United States has relied on buying the RD-180 from Russia for the first stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle. However, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that the military find a replacement to the Russian engine by 2019. Air Force…
