This week, the Ukrainian military will begin to study the American Patriot air defense system.

According to US media, a group of Ukrainian military personnel has already arrived in the United States.

The exercises will take place at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where the U.S. military is conducting its own Patriot SAM operation and maintenance training.

The first group consists of between 90 and 100 Ukrainian servicemen, being the number of people needed to operate one Patriot battery, which accommodates up to eight launchers, as well as auxiliary equipment and systems.

A video of a group of Ukrainian soldiers arriving in the United States was published by an American journalist.

Roughly 100 Ukrainian troops arrived on U.S. soil this evening – they'll soon begin training on the Patriot missile system at Fort Sill, OK. @ZelenskyyUa says the system will make a significant difference in bolstering Kyiv's defenses against Russia. @FoxNewsMMR @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/JFCC6GvA43

— Austin Westfall (@WestfallAustin) January 16, 2023

The Pentagon has not revealed an official training schedule, except that it will be scaled back.

It is known that the United States has developed a special plan for accelerated training of the Ukrainian military. The development of the Patriot air defense system will last several months. Usually, Americans learn to operate with this system for up to a year.

Thus, the servicemen will be able to return to Ukraine as soon as possible and start performing combat missions to defend the Ukrainian sky.

The Ukrainians selected for training already have experience in managing air defense systems.

On December 21, 2022, the United States announced the provision of a Patriot SAM battery to Ukraine. Subsequently, it became known that the Pentagon was considering training the Ukrainian military to operate the Patriot air defense system at a military base in the United States, and not in Europe.

Germany also announced the transfer of such an air defense system.

MIM-104 Patriot is an American anti-aircraft missile system produced by a group of American companies led by Raytheon. The system was created as a universal platform of air defense at medium and high altitudes, it is also capable of providing missile defense at the level of the U.S. Army.