At the end of last year, the U.S. announced it would send apatriot missile defense system to Ukrainefor the first time, to aid in its war against Russia. Ukrainian soldiers are being trained to operate the system at Fort Sill in southwest Oklahoma.
The Patriot Missile Defense System was first deployed in 1984 and has been upgraded throughout the decades since, to be effective against aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles alike. Moreover, the system is accurate, fireable in any weather conditions and nearly autonomous.
Despite its advantages, the four-million-dollar-per-shot machine needs trained soldiers to operate it. In a report from CNN, that training is happening at Oklahoma’s own Fort Sill just outside of Lawton. According to the Department of Defense, 100 Ukrainian soldiers are being trained to use the system and it will likely take several months before their training is complete. This will be one of two Patriot Missile Systems in Ukraine, the other comes from Germany.
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