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1h ago

U.S. Moves to Slash Military Capabilities Available to NATO

The change would shift responsibility for key combat and surveillance assets to European allies and force faster procurement and readiness to avoid shortfalls.

NATO and U.S. flags are set on the table as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meet at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
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Overview

  • A U.S. defence envoy privately briefed senior NATO officials in Brussels last week that Washington plans to narrow the pool of forces it will make available in a crisis, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday.
  • The reported cuts would halve the number of strategic bombers offered to NATO, reduce U.S. fighter jet availability by about one third, make fewer destroyers available and stop providing submarines to the alliance.
  • Washington also plans to scale back provision of armed drones and to require European partners to supply reconnaissance drones, while U.S. officials say nuclear deterrence commitments will remain in place.
  • The Pentagon will deliver further details at a force-generation conference in early June and the move follows earlier decisions this month to withdraw roughly 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, raising allied concern about capability gaps.
  • NATO officials say the shift increases strain in the alliance and will push European states to speed procurement and readiness, a change that could alter where and how Europeans train, deploy and reassure local populations near U.S. bases.