How could we have shown them "how to do it" if we haven't ACTUALLY done it? I expect there are some Brits that are/were involved in NASA somewhere, but we didn't write the blueprint.
HD's are designed for rednecks to be able to maintain and the same goes for most US military equipment, it has to be maintained by a grunt..... hence it was within your engineering capability.
Think space travel, gps, mobile phones, smart phones, personal computers, kevlar, laser printers, cd's. Yes, we have had our fair share of engineering successes, but they are not too shabby either.