The U.S. Defense Department wants to end its dependency on Russian engines to power rockets that launch national security satellites, but is still exploring possible options, a top Pentagon official said on Friday. Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, said the Pentagon had taken some initial steps to reduce the risks linked with use of the Russian engines, but had not made any final decisions about how to proceed."We are motivated, if we can do it, to remove the dependency that we have. We would ... like to do that," he said. "We haven't figured out exactly how to get there yet."Several U.S. congressional committees have added funding to the fiscal 2015 military budget to start work on a new U.S. rocket engine and eliminate reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 engines used the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp.ULA uses the Russian-made engines in one type of rocket, the Atlas, but not in another, the Delta. The company has enough engines on hand to last for two years, officials have said.
The Boeing Company (Boeing), is an aerospace company. Shares of BA traded higher by 0.08% or $0.1/share to $132.29. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $96.31 and as high as $144.57. On average, 3569730 shares of BA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2376163.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems and products. Shares of LMT traded higher by 0.86% or $1.4/share to $164.04. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $103.51 and as high as $168.87. On average, 1446020 shares of LMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 750209.
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