The Center for Individual Freedom sent a letter to senators on Wednesday urging them to maintain the prohibition on buying more Russian rocket engines.
The House Armed Services Committee voted last month to allow the Air Force to purchase 18 additional Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines to meet what the service says it needs to launch satellites into space.
But the nonpartisan organization devoted to protecting individual freedom said the U.S. should not delay ending its reliance on Russia.
“The fundamental question presented is this: Should the United States military and space program continue to rely upon Russian rocketry? The answer is manifestly ‘No,'” the Center for Individual Freedom letter said.
Next week, the full House will debate the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill, in which the boost in Russian rocket numbers is included.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is also likely debating the issue during its closed mark up of the defense bill this week. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and chairman of the committee, is a staunch critic of providing any more money to the Russians when the U.S. has two private space launch companies on which it can rely: SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, uses the engines for its rockets.
But key members of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, like Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have promised to include the increased number of engines in the authorization bill, even if appropriators cut it. The rockets are built in his state.
