troung

Dammit I promised myself I would take it easier on you seeing as all the crap you deal with on PDF...

But actually the IDF most of the time had the tech edge even in 1967 and of course in 1973.

Let's be honest even the IDF had RPG-7s in 1973 (actually before then) along with M-72s and both sides had ATGMs, what made them deadly in Arab hands wasn't their rather low P/K but using them in massed attacks by outfitting units well past the advised ToE. ATGMs were not even new as the French employed them in Algeria and North Vietnam also used the AT-3 before 1973. The IDF did employ the SS-10/SS-11 and Cobra which worked pretty much as "well" as the AT-3s. The difference was that one side used them in mass to deal with armor but the other side didn't see the same potential in the weapon and didn't use them in the same way. But by the end of the war the IDF did receive the TOW which as we know is far more advanced then the AT-3.

SAMs were not new either as the IDF/AF has the very deadly HAWK system since before 1967. The HAWK is far more deadly then anything the Soviets gave the Arabs. Also the IDF/AF had the Shrike missile giving them a SEAD capability the Arabs totally lacked. What made the Arabs SAMs so "deadly" was their employment, plus one side writing off losses as being from SAMs rather then airplanes...

The Mirage IIICJ, Mirage 5J, F-4E and A-4 were far advanced in payload, range and weapons then what the Arabs were getting from the USSR.

Also improved Arab tank gunnery and having fighters with guns (MiG-21MFs) did help the Arabs as well. Before the arrival of the MiG-21MF the backbone was the MiG-21PF which might have well been unarmed as the R-13 had an awful PK and even if fired within its very small NEZ would mostly miss. Little wonder that Iraq actually bought AIM-9Bs from Jordan as late as the 1980s to put onto planes.

Israel found some short comings with their artillery, not because the Arabs were so big but the fact the IDF had neglected it relying on the IDF/AF to provide support. And as it stood the vast majority of Arab guns (minus the Libyan Palmaria-155s) were towed because they could not get SP guns from the USSR which wasn't big on them. As it also stood the IDF did have super long range M-107s.

A lot is made of the M-51 Shermans being so old. Surprisingly with their French 105mm guns they could kill a T-62 (when you get down to it more then likely a non ERA T-72). So those were pretty high tech and had an excellent French upgrade package.

And in 1948 let's remember the Arabs were not some military power but pretty much were as bad if not actually worse equipped then the IDF. Lebanon still had FT-17s for example... so the Arabs were not some military super power... Syria had H-39s...

Now the Arabs did have issues past equipment but they are not the idiots they are often made out to be.

When you think about it the Arabs are pretty smart and learn fast. They found weak links in the IDF and moved to exploit them. Israel fell into the same traps in Lebanon with special anti tank units as they did in 1973 and did not learn the lessons. They headlong rushed into Lebanon with the same tactics at first that they got bloodied with in 1973 but in worse terrain that far more favored the defender.

Even today they simply put more armor onto APCs rather then having the men get the hell out and take out the anti tank commandos as opposed to trying to hunker down more. Really that has to do with the fear of loosing people which probably makes them lose even more people.

I mean I can see where you come from and all and am not trying to insult you or Israel. I'm not trying to take anything away just trying to cut through some of the media reporting which painting things.

But M-21's 5 parts tech, 1 part balls, and 4 parts hype holds up in some ways well...