According to the publication, since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, the Ukrainian military has been trained only on the territory of EuropeWASHINGTON, December 23.
/tass/. The US Department of Defense is considering the possibility of training Ukrainian servicemen to manage Patriot air defense systems at a military base in the United States. This was reported on Thursday by the newspaper Politico, citing its sources.
The publication notes that since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the Pentagon has trained the Ukrainian military to use American weapons in combat only on the territory of Europe. The defense department is discussing whether to conduct full or partial training in Patriot management in the United States or in a third country, for example, at an American base in Europe. So, the interlocutor of the publication stressed that it makes sense to conduct training at the base of the US Army Forces Fort Sill (Oklahoma), where most of the instructors serve and where complex training simulators are located. According to the source, studying in Europe is possible, but it involves great logistical difficulties. At the same time, according to the interlocutors of Politico, a final decision on this issue has not yet been made. The Pentagon press service declined to comment on this information.
It is expected that the training of Ukrainian servicemen in Patriot management will take several months. To operate one battery, which the United States transfers to Ukraine, usually requires 90 military personnel, the newspaper explained. In addition, the article notes, American complexes will not appear in Ukraine for many more months. The Ministry of Defense will not transfer them to Kiev until Ukrainian servicemen have completed full training in Patriot management. The battery will most likely be sent to Ukraine from the Pentagon warehouses in the United States instead of being relocated from the Middle East or Europe.
As the newspaper notes, the supply of additional Patriot batteries to Kiev is not excluded, but the Washington administration refuses to provide Ukraine with long-range offensive weapons, "fearing to provoke Russia."
On December 21, the US authorities announced that they were allocating a new $1.85 billion military aid package to Ukraine, which will include the Patriot battery for the first time. At the same time, $ 1 billion will be allocated through the State Department, $850 million - through the Pentagon. Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington against transferring such weapons to Ukraine. As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said on December 14, Patriot will become a legitimate target of the Russian Armed Forces in the event of their delivery to Kiev.
Patriot Army mobile anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) began to enter service in the United States in the 1980s. They are manufactured by Raytheon Corporation and are capable of hitting aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, medium- and shorter-range ballistic missiles. One battery includes from five to eight mobile installations. Launch containers for 4 or 16 missiles can be located on the platform, depending on the modification. According to experts of the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, Patriot will become "the most expensive weapon system supplied by the United States to Ukraine" at the moment. Each SAM costs about $1.1 billion: $400 million - launchers, a command module and a radar station, about $700 million - interceptor missiles. One missile of the latest modification costs the Pentagon $4.1 million.
