Why are Israeli pilots such hotshots?

One answer: They fly more. On average, they try to put in between 25 and 30 hours aloft each month, says a Pentagon analyst. By contrast, he says, the average US fighter pilot was flying 16 hours a month just two years ago.

Even cross-country flying constitutes combat training for Israeli pilots, the analyst adds, because they "are subject to being engaged shortly after their wheels are off the ground." Isra el is about the size of New Jersey.m