MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the head of Roscosmos State Corporation, Russia will secure a number of major contracts in this area in the course of 2016.
"I must say frankly that the United States buy our engines not out of charity <…> they are currently the best of all existing in the world in terms of price/quality. We are confident that the situation with the purchase of engines will last several more years," Igor Komarov told RT broadcaster in an interview.
In 2014, US Congress passed a law demanding the United States phase out its reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines.
However, in the two years after implementing a purchasing ban on the RD-180 engines, Congress has been forced to lift that ban to ensure the United States access to space.