A Patriot missile launcher is staged during a training exercise of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Okla., in 2019. (Amanda Gerlach/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will train Ukrainian troops at Fort Sill, Okla., on how to use Patriot missile defense systems to help fight off Russian aerial attacks, defense officials said Tuesday.
The Defense Department said last month that it would send a Patriot battery to Ukraine for the first time to help Ukrainian forces improve aerial defenses. Germany later announced it would also send one of the Patriot systems from its military stockpile to help the Ukraine war effort.
But operating the missile defense system requires extensive training, and Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, told reporters Tuesday that Ukrainian troops will travel to the Army’s Fort Sill where American troops are trained to use the Patriot system.
“Training will begin very soon, as soon as next week,” Ryder added, noting it takes about 90 troops to operate and maintain the Patriot system. “The Patriot will contribute to the air defense capabilities Ukraine has. It will enable them to take down ballistic missiles.”
Built in 1869 in southwestern Oklahoma, Fort Sill is home to the Army’s Air Defense Artillery School and Field Artillery School.
Pentagon officials have said training the Ukrainians to use the Patriot would take several months. Before Tuesday’s announcement, defense officials had said Germany was a possible location for the Ukrainians to train with the missile system.
Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak in 2021 visited Fort Sill, Okla., where Polish soldiers trained on the Patriot missile system. (Ygal Kaufman/U.S. Army)
It usually takes about a year to fully train troops to use the Patriot system, but Ryder said the Ukrainian troops will receive accelerated training. He said the point of the expedited program is to return Ukrainian troops to the battlefield as soon as possible. But he underscored the accelerated timetable won’t compromise safety or the system’s effectiveness.
“We’re not winging it in terms of training,” Ryder said, also noting the program will be tailored to the conditions that Ukrainians are facing on the battlefield. He also said the Ukrainian training won’t disrupt or compromise training that’s already going at Fort Sill.
Defense officials have said previously that the Patriots will give Ukraine “critical long-range capability to defend its airspace.”
“It’s going to take some time to complete necessary training, but the Patriot battery will be another critical asset for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression,” President Joe Biden said last month after he revealed the U.S. would send a Patriot system to Ukraine.
It wasn’t immediately known Tuesday how many Ukrainian troops will train in Oklahoma or exactly how long they might be there. Ryder only said they will be at Fort Sill for “several months.” The base covers more than 90,000 acres near Lawton, Okla., and is located about 80 miles southwest of downtown Oklahoma City.
Ryder indicated in his remarks Tuesday that the U.S.-supplied Patriot battery has not yet arrived in Ukraine.
Biden’s administration has given more than $20 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began Feb. 24. Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said repeatedly that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it’s needed.
“That’s where we are focused, making sure they have what they need,” Ryder said Tuesday.
Last week, the United States announced its largest aid package to date, in terms of total value. The package, worth roughly $3 billion, includes dozens of Bradley Fighting Vehicles — armored vehicles that are often referred to as “tank killers.”
Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told reporters at the Pentagon last week that the Bradleys and other vehicles, such as Humvees, are needed along NATO’s eastern flank, which runs along Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders.
Once the Ukrainians are trained how to use the U.S. vehicles and weapons, Cooper said they will be “set up for success” on the battlefield.
“This is the right time for Ukraine to take advantage of its capabilities to change the dynamic on the battlefield,” she said.
