Fort Sill to train 100 Ukrainian soldiers on Patriot missile defense system
About 100 Ukrainian troops are headed to Fort Sill to receive training on how to use and maintain a Patriot air defense system, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the training will start as soon as next week.
The goal is to prepare the Ukrainian soldiers to operate and maintain the system so that it provides them with the ability to successfully defend their citizens against Russian air attacks, Ryder said.
"Once fielded, the Patriot will contribute to Ukraine's air defense capabilities (giving Ukrainians another way) to defend themselves against Russia's ongoing aerial assaults," Ryder said.
How Patriot missile defense works
The U.S. Army regularly provides Patriot system training to its soldiers and those from allied armies at Fort Sill, one of the service's four basic training bases. Fort Sill is located near Lawton in southwest Oklahoma, about 90 miles from Oklahoma City.
Fort Sill also is the home for the U.S. Army's field artillery school, which has been training soldiers since 1911.
Each Patriot battery consists of a truck-mounted launching system with eight launchers that can hold up to four missile interceptors each, a ground radar, a control station and a generator. The Army said it currently has 16 Patriot battalions.
Patriot batteries will complement a variety of air defense systems that U.S. and NATO partners have pledged to Ukraine as it faces ongoing attacks from missiles and drones against its civilian population and infrastructure from Russia in the now nearly 11-month-old conflict.
Ryder said Tuesday the Pentagon expects it will take the Ukrainian soldiers several months to be trained on the system. Even though the training will take months, it is still an abbreviated course, compared to what U.S. soldiers typically undergo.
However, expectations Russia could launch new offensives forced adjustments so that the Ukrainian soldiers could be returned to the battlefield as soon as possible.
"Since the very beginning, that is something we have talked closely with the Ukrainians about — to ensure they can do both. There is an ongoing fight, and we certainly don't want to do anything that would jeopardize their ability to continue to fight, but ultimately, that is a decision for them to make," Ryder said.
The general added that just giving the country a Patriot system without any training would do no good.
"It is essential to ensure Ukrainians not only have the equipment they need to fight, but also the training they need to operate it on the front line," he said.
Missile defense system is 'not a game changer' in war vs. Russia
The U.S. pledged to supply Ukraine with one Patriot battery in December as part of several large military aid packages. A Patriot battery includes power-generating equipment, computers, an engagement control system and up to eight launchers. Last week Germany pledged an additional Patriot battery.While the Patriot system is considered to be an advanced and effective air defense system, experts caution it is “not a game-changer” because of its limited range and the amount of time it will take for Ukrainians to be able to utilize it.
Nevertheless, in the wake of the news that Ukraine would soon be operating its own system, Russian officials warned of “unpredictable consequences” in yet another threat of escalation.
“Earlier, many experts, including those overseas, questioned the rationality of such a step which would lead to an escalation of the conflict and increase the risk of directly dragging the U.S. Army into combat,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in December.
An attempt to reach a public affairs officer at Fort Sill on Tuesday was not successful.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ukraine soldiers receiving missile training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma
