Aerojet Rocketdyne’s planned replacement for the Russian-made RD-180 rocket, in use in military launches, passed its critical design review, the company announced Monday. The 500,000-pound thrust, liquid-fueled rocket, known as AR1, is planned for flight in 2019 as part of a Congressional mandate to replace the RD-180 with a US-made engine. The design review proves the company finalized its design and confirms it meets requirements for National Security Space missions, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO Eileen Drake said in a release. The Air Force has awarded contracts to Aerojet Rocketdyne, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and Orbital ATK for development work on possible RD-180 replacements with a congressionally mandated 2019 deadline for deciding on the replacement.
The Air Force’s vision for the seamless, networked warfighting concept known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, is all about using information to dominate the battlespace: By interconnecting systems across every domain, U.S. forces would seek to increase the operational decision space for all U.S. commanders, overwhelming adversary…