March 17, 2015: The Russians have captured an American ground radar in Ukraine. In November 2014 the United States flew in the first three (of twenty) AN/TPQ-48 portable (69 kg/150 pounds) mortar spotting radars, along with American personnel to quickly train Ukrainian troops on how to use it. With a range of 6,000 meters these radars and their computers can quickly locate where the mortars firing shells are as soon as the radar spots the shells in flight. Some of these radars were in sent to eastern Ukraine by the end of 2015 where Ukrainian troops were facing Russian backed rebels as well as Russian troops. In late January 2015 the Russians broke the ceasefire and launched another offensive. Ukrainian troops were forced back in some areas and the Russians claimed to have captured one of the AN/TPQ-48 systems and publicized the incident.