Patriot Training: Army Learns from Ukrainians as They Master U.S. Missile Defense System.

• Author: Carberry, Sean

FORT SILL, Oklahoma --A low rumble gradually replaces the howl of the wind battering the golden grass and brush of the Oklahoma plains. A convoy of nine hulking Army vehicles emerges from a dirt road and speeds by into an expanse.

Five trailered missile launchers fan out as radar and command vehicles stop about 100 yards behind. Then, 65 Ukrainian soldiers set the legs to anchor the launchers and start running cables to the command vehicles.

This was one of the final exercises in the 10-week training course on the Patriot missile defense system the U.S. Army has been conducting at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. And as the Ukrainian soldiers--who will soon return to the battlefield--were learning how to use the system, the U.S. Army was learning from the Ukrainians about real-world missile defense applications that could shape training and system requirements going forward.

For the first time since the training began in January, the Army brought a group of reporters to Fort Sill to witness the Ukrainians undergoing training on a Patriot battery. Under the ground rules, the media could not film, shoot video or speak with the Ukrainians for the safety of the soldiers and their families.

Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, commander of Fort Sill, said the training focused on operator and maintainer tasks, and differed from the typical training course because the Ukrainians came in with more experience than most of the 5,000 U.S. and international students who come to Fort Sill for Patriot training each year.

Under the instruction of the 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, the Ukrainians went through a conditions-based program of concurrent courses on Patriot operations--or air battle management--launching station operations and radar, engagement control system and launcher maintenance, Morgan said.

"Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive and absolutely a quick study due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone," he added, saying that the Ukrainians had been hand-picked and "the best of the best in what they do in air defense for Ukraine."

The training started at the individual level and progressed quickly to crew drills and collective tasks, he added.

"At the end of the training, student crews were trained to defend against a complex multi-axis missile attack," he said. "The training provided by our soldiers will be vital to Ukraine's continued success on the battlefield and to protect itself from air and...