Overview
- The New York Times reported on Friday, June 12, that a written U.S. plan would cut about 50 F-16/F-15E fighters (from roughly 150 to 100), reduce maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and remove eight aerial refueling tankers from NATO assignments in Europe.
- The plan also reportedly reassigns a missile‑capable submarine, an aircraft carrier and its strike group, and one of two bomber task forces, a shift that would reduce NATO’s long‑range strike and surveillance reach.
- The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the specific numbers; U.S. European Command said it will “rightsize” contributions to the NATO Force Model but provided no timeline for when changes would take effect.
- NATO’s top military officer has asked European allies and Canada to quickly backfill gaps with manned and unmanned aircraft, naval vessels and long‑range fires while NATO studies alternative defence plans.
- The moves reflect a broader U.S. strategy to reallocate forces toward the Indo‑Pacific and the Middle East, and they raise short‑term deterrence worries in Eastern Europe as leaders prepare to clarify commitments at the July NATO summit in Turkiye.