U.S. Plans Major Cut to Air and Naval Forces Available to NATO in Europe

Overview

• A report published Friday says a U.S. document shared with allies would cut fighters from about 150 to 100, reduce maritime patrol planes from 26 to 15, remove eight refueling tankers, relocate an aircraft carrier and a ballistic-missile submarine, and transfer a bomber group.
• U.S. European Command has confirmed it will 'resize' its contributions to NATO's force model while the Pentagon has not released a public timetable, and unnamed U.S. officials have indicated reductions could begin soon.
• Analysts and officials warn the changes would hurt NATO capabilities such as long-range Tomahawk strikes and tracking Russian submarines, weakening short-term deterrence in key maritime and strike roles.
• Allied ministers and some U.S. defense officials say communications about the plan have been confusing, creating pressure on European governments to accelerate procurement and coordination to fill the gap.
• The shifts reflect President Trump’s long-standing push for greater European burden-sharing and EUCOM’s argument about multi-theater risk, even as U.S. forces in Europe remain large and some countries speed up rearmament.