Russian air-to-air missiles for F-15 and F/A-18

This is the part of the article from AVN Interfax, and was carried on by associeted foreign press as well.. were the guys who wrote this smoking grass or did I miss something in last few months because this is a first time i ever heard of such concept even being mentioned.

Cheers
JAG

Moscow (AFP) March 19, 2002 Interfax-AVN

The United States plans to buy 18,000 Russian air-to-air missiles for its F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, an official from the Russian manufacturer Vympel, a partner of US aircraft maker Boeing, said on Tuesday quoted by Interfax-AVN.

According to the designer, Gennady Sokolovsky, the RVV-AE missiles will be installed on “fighters sold abroad” because US legislation does not allow imported weaponry to be installed on equipment used by the American military.

“After September 11, Boeing decided to return to projects we have discussed for several years. We will provide radars for these missiles,” said the director of the Russian agency for radio-electronic military systems, Vladimir Simonov.

The RVV-AE air-to-air medium-range missile is used to attack fighters and bombers during combats both in daylight and at night in difficult weather conditions.

They intercept targets flying at speeds of 3,600 kilometres (2,250 miles) per hour at an altitude between 200 metres and 25 kilometres.