The Aerial Defense Academy in southern Israel now hosts a new Patriot simulator, meaning service members training to operate the anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon will be able to practise at home instead of travelling to the United States.

“With this new addition, we have upgraded our training methods,” said Capt. Matan Shalom in a statement. Shalom, who heads the Patriot unit in the Instruction Division at the Aerial Defense Headquarters, added that the new simulator would also change methods of instruction, simulation reconstructions, and debriefings for the weapon.

The simulator has 10 stations that simulate those in the control trailer of the Patriot, in addition to instructional stations that control the exercise. While the simulation currently asks operators to find and react to hostile targets, it could eventually interoperate with additional training tools such as flight simulators.

“The connection will allow cooperation with other formations in the force,” said Lt Colonel Gershon Zlutnik, head of the Instructional Division at the ADA. “There may be a time where a pilot and a Patriot controller will have to cooperate.”