Yes, i agree the reason the Israelis possibly won was due to the fact they knw that in any future engagements they would probably find themselves faving a horde of armies from a myriad of Arab nations attacking from different dirrections (a recoup of the 6 day war), and since Israel is virtually surrounded by them, and it is small, the pilots would have to be almost super-men.
However a kill ratio of 220 out of 240 (220 for the Israelis, and only 20 for the US navy F-18s) is still very shocking. Very. And i know the Israelis have done stuff to their F-16s to make them more maneuverable (possible even Thrust vectoring), but still...220 out of 240.
It just made me doubt seriously the efficacy of the Hornet against a comparable fighter flown by a competent pilot! We cannot assume that every nation we fight against will have an airforce composed of mig-19s and mig-21s piloted by Idiots!
220 out of 240!!!!!!!! There are no excuses for that one. None!
The reason for the overwhelming Israeli kills was due to the fact that the Israelis were using a fire control system that allows the Pilot to target the enemy through his helmet visor and fire missiles that are able to engage from the left, right up down.
The Americans were using their HUDs and Sparrows.
...if I am not mistaken.