Ukrainian troops heading to Oklahoma for Patriot missile training

A hundred Ukrainian soldiers are set to begin training on the Patriot missile system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, “as soon as next week,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed Tuesday during a press briefing.

The Army 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 said.

The Pentagon announced in late 2022 that it intended to provide a single Patriot system to Ukrainian forces, as well as the required training to operate it.

The 100 troops scheduled for training at Fort Sill are roughly the number that would be assigned to a U.S. Patriot battery.

This first rotation of troops is the only one currently planned, but “we will keep the dialogue open in terms of any potential future training,” Ryder said. “But right now the focus is on training these operators to operate the system.”

The Pentagon did not announce an official timeline for the training, except to say that it will be shortened from the multiyear advanced individual training new U.S. soldiers get on the system.

The Ukrainians selected for training already have an air defense artillery background, Ryder said, and there is an emphasis on returning them to the battlefield.

“We’re not winging it in terms of the training,” Ryder said. “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 home April 10.

Asked whether any other U.S.-provided systems would be best suited for training in the U.S., “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 told Military Times.

This latest group is separate from the recently announced monthly rotation of 500 Ukrainian troops to Germany, where they will receive 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 said Dec. 15. “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.”

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

空军准将帕特·莱德周二在新闻发布会上证实，一百名乌克兰士兵将于“最早下周”在俄克拉荷马州锡尔堡开始接受爱国者导弹系统的训练。

陆军之所以选择锡尔堡而不是欧洲的训练场，是因为爱国者导弹的训练基地（通常是为期两年的训练基地）位于俄克拉荷马州的锡尔堡。

莱德说：“一旦部署完毕，爱国者导弹系统将有助于提升乌克兰的防空能力，并为乌克兰人民提供另一种抵御俄罗斯持续空中袭击的能力。”

五角大楼在 2022 年底宣布，计划向乌克兰军队提供一套“爱国者”导弹防御系统，以及操作该系统所需的培训。

计划在锡尔堡接受训练的 100 名士兵，大致相当于美国爱国者导弹连的兵力。

莱德表示，目前只有这一批部队轮换，但“我们将就任何潜在的未来训练保持对话”。“但眼下，重点是训练这些操作人员操作这套系统。”

五角大楼没有公布正式的训练时间表，只是表示训练时间将比美国新兵目前接受的多年高级单兵训练时间缩短。

莱德说，被选中接受训练的乌克兰人已经具备防空炮兵背景，重点是让他们重返战场。

“我们在训练方面绝不会掉以轻心，”莱德说。“这将是一套成熟的课程，用于训练士兵使用爱国者导弹系统，但会加快进度，以确保他们能尽快返回乌克兰。”

乌克兰军队以前曾在美国接受过训练，其中包括去年年初——俄罗斯入侵开始时——在之前安排的专业军事教育中学习操作“弹簧刀”无人机系统的 10 名士兵。

他们于4月10日返回家乡。

当被问及是否还有其他美国提供的系统更适合在美国进行训练时，莱德告诉《军事时报》：“就目前而言，这是我唯一关注的系统。但当然，我们将继续保持灵活，并采取最合理、最有利的措施。”

莱德表示，这批新兵与此前宣布的每月轮换500名乌克兰士兵前往德国接受诸兵种联合机动训练的计划无关。后者也定于下周开始。

“联合兵种机动训练是我们自2014年开始的持续训练工作的合乎逻辑的下一步，旨在提升乌克兰武装部队的能力，”莱德在12月15日表示。“虽然人们的关注点可以理解地集中在提供给乌克兰的装备上，但训练对于确保乌克兰拥有必要的熟练部队以更好地保卫自己至关重要，而且一直如此。”

梅根·迈尔斯是《军事时报》五角大楼分社社长。她负责报道军事行动、政策、人事、领导力以及其他影响军人的问题。