Russia’s engine manufacturer NPO Energomash and the U.S. United Launch Alliance (ULA) have signed new contract to supply six RD-180 rocket engines to the United States in 2020, Energomash’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Arbuzov said on Tuesday.
According to Izvestya, the negotiating process was long, and Russia’s Defense Ministry and Security Council doubted the reasonability of the transaction, while on the American side Congressmen were putting pressure on the deal.
Arbuzov did not reveal the deal’s value, because the American side required non-disclosure of its financial details, a source in the space industry told the newspaper. Another source close to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos added that “the precedent itself is important here rather than the cost.”
Energomash delivers RD-180 engines for US Atlas III and Atlas V rockets and RD-181 engines for Antares launch vehicles. Moscow and Washington signed the first contract on supplies of 101 RD-180 engines worth almost $1 bln back in 1997.
The U.S. also obtained a license for the production of RD-180 engines and their analogs but has failed so far to get their production up and running.
In 2014, the U.S. Congress imposed a ban on the use of RD-180 engines amid a deterioration in relations with Russia but lifted it in 2015. In 2016, the U.S. placed an order with Energomash for an additional 18 RD-180 engines.
According to Vedomosti, U.S.-made engines would be able to squeeze out Russian ones no earlier than in 2025, and even 2028 if any difficulties occur.
