FORT SILL, Oklahoma — Several dozen Ukrainian soldiers are finishing their training on the Patriot missile system and will be deploying to the front lines, armed with air-to-ground defenses, in a few weeks.and more advanced of the United States to protect against Russian missile attacks.
Ukrainian soldiers, all combat veterans skilled in Russian-designed artillery systems, have it surprised his instructors Americans for the speed with which they learned the intricacies of operation and maintenance of the sophisticated Patriots, which can shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, unlike other systems supplied by the West, and can hit targets much further away.
Now, after a custom-designed 10-week crash course at this US Army base, Ukrainians are essentially conducting their own training, US instructors said, adapt tactics and techniques in real time in response to Russian attacks on power grids and other targets in your country.
In a cloudy and windswept training ground on Tuesday, the Ukrainians tried setting up a Patriot battery — tracking radars, control systems, a generator and launch stations capable of firing multiple missiles simultaneously — like the one the United United agreed to donate in December.
The drill, completed in less than 45 minutes, failed to fire actual missiles.
“Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive and capable of learning very quickly due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone,” Brigadier General Shane P. Morgan, commander of Fort Sill.
The US military has almost trained or is training 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers at shooting ranges in Germany.
But for the Patriot system, Pentagon officials agreed to train Ukrainians on American soil.
Fort Sill, a former cavalry outpost in southwest Oklahoma, is where 5,100 U.S. soldiers and 18 other countries they learn each year how to operate and maintain the Patriot system.
Since their arrival in mid-January, Ukrainian students have been dedicated 10 hours a daysix days a week, in classroom lectures and drills, military officials said.
Sessions are usually held in English, with some translations.
In more informal exchanges, US instructors claim to receive advice from his Ukrainian students, who fought against Russian forces that the Americans have not yet encountered directly in combat.
The American instructors say they were able to expedite introductory courses and move on to more advanced concepts because the Ukrainians were already familiar with the Soviet-era systems, giving them a Landmark when working on a more automated platform like Patriot.
“This is lightning-fast Patriot training; it’s truly remarkable,” said Thomas Karako, who heads the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and has written extensively on the Patriot system and its training.
The army gave a group of journalists access to training for the first time on Tuesday for 65 Ukrainian soldiers who have been handpicked by their commanders to learn how to operate the Patriot system.
The Pentagon said in January it would have to go in 90 and 100 Ukrainians it has received training, roughly the number of US troops needed to operate a US Army Patriot battery, but Ukraine has decided to send fewer forces, US officials said.
The Pentagon has imposed strict guidelines for the three-hour visit.
It prohibited taking photos or videos of the training and its participants, and prohibited interviews with fatigued Ukrainian soldiers who stood within a few feet of reporters on the training ground.
The restrictions reflect continuing concerns from the White House and the Pentagon about stoking Russian anger over Western involvement in the war or sparking a broader conflict.
At the same time, however, the Biden administration has insisted that the US lineup itself is unlikely to exacerbate tensions with Russia.
Officials reiterated Tuesday that the patriot is a defense system, not an offensive weapon.
“The Patriot air defense system poses, I repeat, no threat to Russia,” said Colonel Martin O’Donnell, spokesman for the US military in Europe and Africa, which oversees US training in Germany.
After finishing at Fort Sill in the next few days, the Ukrainians will travel to Polandwhere their Patriot system will await them, US officials said.
The troops will then spend a few weeks with other Ukrainian soldiers who have conducted similar training in Europe with a Patriot battery donated by Germany and the Netherlands, officials said.
Once operational issues are resolved, the two Ukrainian-operated Patriot batteries will deploy to the war zone, likely in April, according to authorities.
France and Italy They have stated that they will send air defense systems similar to the Patriot missile.
Where and how the Patriot systems are deployed will depend on the Ukrainian government, according to officials.
From the Russian president Vladimir Putin Ordering the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has unleashed a torrent of air and missile strikes against civilian and military targets.
Ukraine’s leaders are likely to use the patriots to defend high-priority targets, such as key parts of the country’s power grid and other civilian infrastructure.
Russian high-speed ballistic missiles hit them especially hard.
The Patriot system works most effectively as part of what the military calls a “layered defense” that includes other air defenses used to shoot down or counter drones and warplanes, as well as a variety of cruise and ballistic missiles, officials said.
Air defense specialists have warned against considering the Patriot a silver bullet against all threats.
“A single Patriot battery cannot turn the conflict around,” Karako said.
“But in combination with the German and Dutch battery, it allows Ukraine to design defenses in depth”.
President’s decision Joe Biden the sending of the Patriot system in December was a powerful signal of the growing US military engagement in Ukraine.
The Pentagon’s active-duty Patriot units are often deployed on missions around the world, and experts say the United States doesn’t have the kind of deep stockpiles of Patriot missiles available for transfer that it did with munitions like artillery shells and rockets. . .
The Patriot is one of the most coveted air defense systems on the US arms market, used by Saudi and Emirati forces in Yemen and throughout the NATO alliance in Europe.
The Patriot is also, by far, the weapon system more expensive that the United States supplied to Ukraine, at a total cost of about $1.1 billion: $400 million for the system and $690 million for the missiles.
A single interceptor missile costs approx 4 million dollars, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Each launcher costs about 10 million dollars.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.