The U.S. military is considering training Ukrainians to operate its Patriot missile defense system on U.S. soil.
The MIM-104 Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target system, at the eye-watering cost of roughly $1 billion, is the most advanced missile defense system in the U.S. arsenal. It was first utilized during the Gulf War in 1991, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The advanced tracking and intercepting abilities of the Patriot missile defense system require advanced training to operate it effectively. The recent announcement that the United States would provide the system to Ukraine raised the question of where to train its new Ukrainian operators.
According to two Department of Defense officials who spoke with Politico, the military is considering training Ukrainians to operate the system at a military base on U.S. soil.
WHAT IS THE PATRIOT MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM BIDEN PROMISED TO UKRAINE?
In order to avoid the reach of the Russian military, Ukrainians have been trained on several advanced U.S. weapons systems in NATO countries throughout the conflict, but none have been trained in the U.S. yet.
The skill needed to operate the system has been a key hold-up in the Pentagon’s reluctance to provide the system despite Ukrainian pleas for months. Training the 90 personnel required to operate one battery will take several months, according to Politico.
Training Ukrainians in the U.S. would solve some of the logistical difficulties posed by training personnel in Europe; advanced simulators and instructors are based at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, making it the go-to choice for where to train the operators.
Part of the problem is the composition of the system. It includes much more than just the missile launcher. Command and control units, radars, a family of interceptors, and other support equipment make up the system, according to CSIS.
A third official told Politico that the system would not be deployed to Ukraine without its operators being fully trained.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Joe Biden for the donation of the system in a press conference Wednesday but said Ukraine would need more.
