"Chad Irby" wrote in message
om...
In article ,
Peter Kemp peter_n_kempathotmaildotcom wrote:

On Sat, 13 Sep 2003 20:23:55 GMT, Chad Irby wrote:

In article ,
Peter Kemp peter_n_kempathotmaildotcom wrote:

We're not talking some of the less able Arab nations, but Egypt, who
has no problems keeping it's F-16s at a fairly high availability, and
the Saudis, who also manage to keep their E-3s and F-15s in the air.

Not according to, well, everything I've ever read, heard and seen. The
current mission-capable rate on the Saudi F-15s is supposed to be less
than 50%, and that's just birds they can get into the air, not what the
US calls "combat capable."

Cite?

Years of hanging around guys who have worked with the Saudis. A couple
of old friends went to work training their techs. The general view is
that they just plain don't have any good flightline techs, except for a
handful of expatriates.

Saudi Arabia is kinda like a guy who buys a top-line Mercedes, never
reads the owner's manual, doesn't change the oil, and lets their cousin
Bob do the tuneups...

Hm, interesting to hear something of this kind: not that I would say the
situation is "completely" different, but there are people ("authoritative
experts", and those "who know") who complain that the Saudis are flying
their jets "too much", and then others who say they are also crashing them
too much - even when there is absolutely no evidence for either.

And then, there are people who said that Iranians can't keep their F-14s
operational without the US help.... from what I can recall, those who said
this were also US technicians - and also higher ranks - working in Iran in
the 1970s...

I guess, somebody should finally go there and find out the truth. ;-))

Tom Cooper
Co-Author:
Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988:
http://www.acig.org/pg1/content.php
and,
Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat:
http://www.osprey-publishing.co.uk/t...hp/title=S6585