Israelis frequently imply that they not only improve on U.S. or other foreign military hardware but take better care of it.
In the past it has been tanks and fighter planes. Now Israeli air force officers are expressing surprise at the bad marks the Pentagon has given the Apache combat helicopters used last year in the Persian Gulf War.
U.S. pilots were reported to have complained that 80 percent of the Apaches’ performance failures in the 1989 invasion of Panama were repeated in the 1991 war against Iraq.
In contrast, the Israel Defense Force is so pleased with the Apaches that it has decided to purchase more of them.
Israel is well satisfied with the performance of the Apaches, albeit flown by Israelis. They concede that the American-flown craft encountered far more difficult conditions in the Persian Gulf arena.
Israeli pilots suggest that their more satisfactory experience may stem from improvements made in the American-built choppers after they got to Israel and by superior maintenance.
They explain that while in the American armed forces, helicopters are maintained by the ground units to which they are deployed, the Israeli practice is to assign maintenance to specially trained air force engineers and technicians.
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