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But the rest of the operations continued, though U.S. businessmen were now skittish. Here’s one effort that proceeded: a multipronged effort to obtain a supersonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missile the Russians call the Moskit, or 3M80. (NATO calls it the SS-N-22 “Sunburn.” The U.S. was interested in obtaining both the original Russian version and an adaptation which the Russians were selling around the world.)

He says he worked above board, dealing with an office in the Russian military. It was a time of peace when no one thought the Russians and the Americans would be at war directly, so the Russians, he says, were willing to even send over 10 technicians to help demonstrate the missile and the American scientists could figure out what worked.

Suddenly, something went wrong. It turned out there was another mission underway, this one a covert operation to acquire the very same missile system. A major with the GRU, the Russian foreign intelligence agency, called him to tell him things were going sour.

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