US to Train Ukrainian Soldiers on Advanced Patriot Missiles

Posted 68 days ago

From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM

U. S. armed forces will begin training up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers on the sophisticated Patriot missile system next week at Fort Sill, Okla., a defense official confirmed for Fox News Tuesday.

The training is expected to take several months, though it will still be an expedited process in comparison to roughly year-long program the Patriot missile system traditionally takes.

"The longer those troops are off the line – they're not actually engaged in combat – and so [the U. S. is] trying to work with Ukrainians to see what we can do to accelerate the training timeline," Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

Ryder said he was not aware of additional plans to send a second round of troops for Patriot systems training at this time.

"The Patriot will add to the air defense capabilities of Ukraine, as we've seen over the last number of months in particular, Russia has really intensified its aerial bombardment of Ukraine – really across the country," he said. "The Patriot will contribute to the air defense capabilities that Ukraine already has."... (Read more)