Soldiers of 16th Regiment said training Ukrainian Armed Forces to use the RBS-70 was a fitting way to send off the man-portable air-defence systems, as new technology enters service at the regiment.
Corporal Jack Murphy was one of a handful of personnel deployed to Poland last year to deliver more than a dozen of the surface-to-air missile launchers and train Ukrainian troops.
Australia donated the RBS-70 after 16th Regiment received the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) in 2023.
Several versions of the RBS-70 had been in service with the regiment since 1987.
"It's still a very good system and it will definitely help them out," Corporal Murphy said.
"We've moved to the NASAMS, but instead of putting the RBS-70s in a shed somewhere, they've gone to aid someone else."
About half a dozen people from the School of Artillery, plus four personnel from 16th Regiment, deployed to Poland for about a month.
'There was no point giving them the equipment without teaching them how to use it.'
Corporal Murphy gave lessons on how to service and maintain the launchers.
"There was no point giving them the equipment without teaching them how to use it," the electronics technician said.
Without knowing who they'd be teaching, or even if they could communicate, the group started with lessons about RBS-70 operation before moving on to fixing common issues in the field.
Corporal Murphy made placards and had them translated into Ukrainian with 'little tips and tricks'.
"We were lucky to have interpreters there," he said.
The soldiers had to overcome space and access limitations over their month-long deployment.
"We were giving lessons in a locker-room on a US barracks, so we couldn't fire the laser, which is how you guide the RBS-70 missile on to target," he said.
"We had to emphasise a few things on the nitty gritty of how to use it without actually firing it."
Australian soldiers assist the training of Ukrainian personnel through Operation Kudu, Defence's support to Operation Interflex, the British-led multinational military operation to train and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
