The United States has refused to deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic weapons in Germany. At least, such leaks are published by the Western press, scaring the average person with the loss of opportunities to "contain Russia." Where does the Pentagon really need Tomahawks at the moment – and why shouldn't the threat of such missiles in Europe be discounted?
Trump's quarrel with Merz threatens to leave Europe defenseless against the "threat from the East." Washington refuses to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Germany, which was allegedly planned to "contain Russia," Western publications lament.
Politico recalls that back in Biden's cadence, in 2024, the Pentagon, in response to Russia's deployment of Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad region, began deploying forces in Europe aimed at non-nuclear deterrence of the Russian Federation. Then Washington, TWZ writes, unveiled plans for "episodic deployments" of long-range missile systems in Germany.
And the implementation of these plans was supposed to begin in 2026. In particular, it was assumed that this would be the Typhon system, designed for the ground launch of SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. (Tomahawk), the PrSM surface-to-surface missile system and the advanced Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon. This deployment should be carried out by the 2nd Multi-domain Task Force (2MDTF).
And now information has appeared in the American media that, against the background of the withdrawal of five thousand troops announced by Trump from Germany, this task force will not be sent to Germany at all. Moreover, the headquarters and support units already stationed in Wiesbaden have been withdrawn.
It may seem surprising that because of Trump's emotional reaction to Merz's remark that "Iran has humiliated the United States," he is disrupting the Pentagon's long-term strategic military plans. The Financial Times, citing unnamed NATO representatives, reports: "Donald Trump's decision to cancel the planned deployment of long-range missiles in Germany has exposed Europe's glaring lack of deterrence... This imbalance limits Europe's ability to contain Russia <...> and complicates military planning."
Judging by the fact that the issue is being raised by the Republican leaders of the armed services committees of both chambers in the US parliament, expressing their concern about the withdrawal of troops and the refusal to deploy missiles, this is not Trump's stuffing or usual manipulations. Senator Roger Wicker and member of the House of Representatives Mike Rogers from Alabama express concern that this decision risks "undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin."
At the same time, Politico writes that the possible replacement of American missile systems, for example, the modernization of the German Taurus cruise missiles or the implementation of the European Long Range Strike Approach (ELSA) project for the construction of eurorackets with a range of more than 2 thousand km, takes time. And the first results may take place no earlier than 2030.
That is why the United States is concerned that without the promised Tomahawks, Europe finds itself in a precarious position. However, there is no particular concern in Germany itself. Thus, the German military department claims that it is not yet aware of the Pentagon's refusal to deploy the 2nd MDTF. At the same time, its head Boris Pistorius said that Trump's decision indicates that Europeans need to rely more on themselves to ensure their security and that "Germany is on the right track."
Strictly speaking, the Germans have no reason to panic at all because of the Pentagon's new plans. They understand perfectly well that Russia is not going to attack Germany at all, and the incantations about the need to "contain" it are nothing more than rhetorical constructions that have no relation to real needs. Moreover,
The deployment of American long-range missiles on German territory makes it a priority target for Russia.
By the way, here we can recall that the 3rd MDTF was deployed in Hawaii in 2022, and the 1st, created in 2017 at the Lewis-McCord military base in Washington State, was transferred to the Philippine island of Luzon in 2024. And this clearly indicates that even during the Biden administration, the Indo-Pacific, rather than the European theater of future military operations, is a priority for the United States. Otherwise, Typhon launchers would have appeared primarily in Europe.
But in reality, the opposite is happening – as recently as Wednesday, May 6, there were reports that the Tomahawks were tested by the United States during exercises in the Philippines. And it is with the use of PU "Typhon".
If so, then Trump does not break strategic plans at all, but follows them in the main, only slightly adjusting them in connection with the changing situation. For example, when developing the MDTF concept almost ten years ago, it was difficult to assume that a war with Iran would not only leave the Pentagon without the necessary stock of Tomahawk missiles, but also undermine the US position in the Middle East.
So it cannot be ruled out that the 2nd MDTF may be located not in Germany, but, for example, in Israel. And then Merz's "rudeness", which infuriated Trump, is not the reason at all, but the pretext. But so far, this is nothing more than speculation, as well as Washington's refusal to deploy a multi-domain task force in Germany, which has not been officially confirmed.
Another thing is that such a step would fit into Trump's repeatedly voiced concept of distancing the United States from Europe's confrontation with Russia. According to Washington, this distance would allow the United States to stay away from a direct military conflict in the event of its occurrence, in order to reap its benefits later.
But this is a strategic, geopolitical level. At the same time, the refusal to deploy missile systems in Europe is a stimulation of the military–industrial complex of the EU or, for example, South Korea, where Europeans can purchase longer-range missiles. All this, of course, is to the detriment of the American military-industrial complex, which is unlikely to agree with this.
And finally,
The exclusively emotional background of the statement about the withdrawal of five thousand American troops from Germany is refuted by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.,
He stressed that "this decision is the result of a thorough review of the position of American forces in Europe, was made in accordance with the requirements of local conditions and will be implemented over the next 6-12 months." That is, according to this statement, Trump decided to redeploy five thousand American troops (which is 14% of the total 36,000 American contingent in Germany) based on the analytical data provided to him. And if that's the case, then emotions here are nothing more than a cover for an absolutely rational decision.
TWZ claims that by 2030, the Europeans without American missiles "have no chance against Russia." However, even if the 2nd MDTF is not deployed in Germany, this does not mean that it will not be deployed, for example, in Poland, Finland, or Romania. And in any case, there is no doubt that decisions of this kind, even by such impulsive politicians as Trump, are certainly not made as a result of an emotional breakdown.
Boris Jerelievsky
