Ukrainian servicemen in US for training on Patriot missile system

Ukrainian troops have arrived at Fort Sill in Oklahoma to begin training on the Patriot missile system, the US Army base announced on January 16.

CNN was the first to report that the training was set to begin as soon as this week.

Fort Sill is home to the Fires Center of Excellence where the US conducts Patriot training for its own military and other countries. 

“The same instructors who teach the US, allied and partner nations will conduct the Ukrainian training, and these classes will not detract from the ongoing training missions at Fort Sill,” the base said in a statement.

The training will take “several months” on the advanced but complex long-range air defence system, according to Pentagon officials. It’s not clear how much the military can accelerate the training program.

The US pledged one Patriot battery in December as part of one of several large military assistance packages it has provided Ukraine in recent weeks, per CBS News. Earlier this month, Germany pledged an additional Patriot battery. And on Tuesday, during a meeting with President Biden, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands, too, would send a Patriot system to Ukraine.

"We have the intention to join what you are doing with Germany on the Patriot project," Rutte said at the White House, adding, "I think that it's important we join that." 

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.

The Patriot batteries will complement a variety of air defence systems that both the U.S. and NATO partners have pledged to Ukraine, as it faces an evolving barrage of missiles and drones against its civilian population and infrastructure from Russia in the nearly 11-month-old conflict. In the last few months, Germany has pledged four IRIS-T air defence systems; the US has also pledged eight mid-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and Avenger air defence systems.