Ukrainian cohorts perform live firing exercise to complete training in South-West region

They've been training on the new AS90

Author: Aaron HarperPublished 25th Mar 2023

A group of Ukrainian military recruits have been completing their training with the AS90 self-propelled weapon system.

At an undisclosed location in the region, the cohorts performed a live-firing exercise, the final stage of the three-week course.

The training included learning about the characteristics of the AS90, followed by some tactical manoeuvring, before finally the live-fire package.

Instructor Sergeant Bernfield said the recruits learning curve had been “steep” but added: “They’re full of enthusiasm and their will to learn is off the charts.”

Sgt Bernfield also praised the mentality of the Ukrainian’s, saying: “Going through what they’ve been through, and the ability to focus on a completely new weapons system, apply themselves to the top of their ability and get the job done to the best fashion, I think that’s great.”

Instructor Sergeant Perkins highlighted the “spirit to fight” the recruits had, saying “You can’t beat someone who has a spirit to fight like they have.”

The course has been a success, but the obvious hurdle of the language barrier caused issues when it turned out that there was no Ukrainian translation for “bearing” or “direction”.

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