Ukrainian Troops Head to Oklahoma for Patriot Missile Training

One hundred Ukrainian soldiers are ready to start training on the Patriot missile system Fort Sill, Oklahoma “as soon as next week,” Air Force Brig. General Pat Ryder confirmed this Tuesday at a press briefing.

The Army has been selected Fort Sill Over Training ranges in Europe because the Patriot’s school house, which is normally a two-year training pipeline, is located at the Oklahoma post.

“Once fielded the Patriot will contribute to Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and provide another capability to Ukrainian people to defend themselves against Russia’s ongoing aerial assaults,” Ryder.

In late 2022 the Pentagon declared that it planned to supply a single Patriot system and required training to operate it to Ukrainian forces.

Fort Sill is expected to train 100 troops. This number would roughly match the number of Patriot batteries.

Although this first rotation is the only planned one, it is still important. “we will keep the dialogue open in terms of any potential future training,” Ryder. “But right now the focus is on training these operators to operate the system.”

The Pentagon did not provide an official timeline but stated that it would be shorter than the multiyear advanced individual training the new U.S. soldiers receive on the system.

Ryder stated that the Ukrainians who were selected for training already have an Air Defense Artillery background and there is an emphasis to return them to combat.

“We’re not winging it in terms of the training,” Ryder. “This will be an established curriculum to train the soldiers on the Patriot system, although expedited to ensure that they can get back to Ukraine as quickly as possible.”

Ukrainian troops have trained stateside before, including a group of 10 who learned to operate the Switchblade drone system early last year — as the Russian invasion began — during previously scheduled professional military education.

They returned April 10th.

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When asked if there are any other U.S.-provided training systems that would best suit the U.S. market, “As of right now, this will be the only one that I’m tracking. But of course, we’ll continue to stay flexible and do what makes the most sense and supportive,” Ryder said that Ryder was a Military Times reporter.

This new group is not part of the recently announced monthly rotation that will send 500 Ukrainian troops to Germany. They will be receiving combined-arms maneuver training. That’s also set to begin next week, Ryder said.

“Combined arms-maneuver training is a logical next step in our ongoing training efforts, which began in 2014, to build the Ukrainian armed forces’ capacity,” Ryder stated that Dec. “While there’s an understandable focus on the equipment being provided to Ukraine, training is and has been essential to ensuring Ukraine has the skilled forces necessary to better defend themselves.”