Pat Host
Defense Daily
2/26/2016
Russian sanctions are not impacting the Defense Department’s ability to acquire Russian-developed rocket engines it uses in launch, the Pentagon’s acquisition czar said Tuesday.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall said DoD is waiting for the Treasury Department’s final decision on whether acquiring RD-180s violates sanctions against Russian government figures, but he said “as far as we can tell,” in consultation with Treasury, sanctions do not affect access to the RD-180. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) reportedly called on DoD to explain how buying RD-180s doesn’t violate sanctions following a recent restructuring of Russia’s space industry.
Kendall also said DoD is operating under the assumption Congress will provide a larger budget to accommodate the upcoming “bow wave” in the early 2020s driven by nuclear modernization spending. A nuclear modernization effort, he said, could develop cost growth by as much as $15 billion annually that would have to be taken out of other accounts.
Money would have to be taken out of other accounts, he said, because DoD would not be able perform the worldwide duties asked of it while simultaneously keeping modernization programs reasonable and maintaining other commitments. DoD wants to modernize its Minuteman III ICBM fleet, build a new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) platform while also developing a new long-range nuclear cruise missile called the Long Range Standoff (LRSO).
“Our assumption, and I think it’s the only logical assumption for us to make, is that we’re going to have some more money out there,” Kendall told an audience at a Washington Space Business Roundtable (WSBR) luncheon in Washington.
Kendall said the law requiring DoD to provide assured access to space, or multiple launch providers, adds to that affordability crisis. Providing assured access is a lot less expensive with a vibrant commercial launch market, he said, but the cost to maintain multiple launch sources in the future will require some tradeoffs.
Andrew Hunter, director of defense-industrial initiatives and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington, said Tuesday the key point in Kendall’s prediction is that fiscal year 2021 is the final year of sequestration-related budget caps. Hunter also said that though original, lower sequestration budget caps that were in place before last year’s bipartisan budget agreement will be back for FY ’18, he doesn’t anticipate the political appetite for those lower spending caps. The bipartisan budget agreement raised defense spending caps for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, whetting Republican appetites for increased defense spending while providing Democrats with increased domestic spending.
The Pentagon will also make a decision this year on instead of delaying for the next administration on what to do with follow-on programs for its Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) for missile warning and Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications constellation. Kendall said the changing nature of the threat in space and the forecasted proliferation of commercial satellites in space are driving its thought process on how to approach follow-on programs for the two systems.
If the “hundreds or even thousands” of commercial satellites that are expected to end up in space as the price of both launch and satellites diminish, Kendall said that would fundamentally change the environment in which DoD’s space systems operate and that gives him concern about resiliency. Kendall said there are several ways the Pentagon can take advantage of the proliferation, if it happens, and that DoD is trying to position itself to take advantage.
