Moscow, Apr 8 (Bureau) The last batch of Russia’s RD-180 rocket engines under the current contract will be delivered to the United States this year, Igor Arbuzov, director general of NPO Energomash, a subsidiary of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, said in an interview. “These engines are ready, but the coronavirus pandemic does not allow us to take them to the US. We will supply them this year. They are the last under the current contract,” Arbuzov said.
In December 2020, it was reported on the Russian state procurement website that six RD-180 engines would be sent to the United States in 2021. The RD-180 engine is used in the first stage of the US Atlas V launch vehicle. In total, according to NPO Energomash, 116 engines have been supplied to the United States since 1999, of which 92 have already been used.