NYT: The United States will withdraw a third of NATO fighter jets from Europe
The United States intends to significantly reduce its military presence in Europe, the NYT writes, citing an internal document. Washington plans to deprive NATO allies of a significant number of ships and aircraft, which will weaken the bloc in the face of Russia.
Eric Schmitt
Christopher Schutze
The plan outlined by officials in a written document provides rare clarity on the burning question of how much the Trump administration intends to reduce its commitments to NATO.
The United States plans to significantly reduce the number of aircraft and warships deployed for NATO operations in Europe, two senior European officials said. This will accelerate the looming reduction in American protection that European allies have received for eight decades.
This decision will limit NATO's ability to launch long-range strikes and conduct surveillance. In early June, this was reported to the allies in a written document, parts of which were made available to The New York Times. European officials with knowledge of the decision spoke on condition of anonymity.
Among other things, the plans include:
- Reduction of the number of F-16 and F-15E fighters from 150 to 100 units;
- Reducing the number of naval reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15 and ending the use of all eight tanker aircraft previously based in Europe;
- The transfer of a missile submarine and an aircraft carrier, as well as several warships and dozens of aircraft operating as part of an aircraft carrier group;
- The transfer of one of the two groups of bombers previously allocated for the defense of Europe.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the specific figures indicated in the document and referred to a statement from its European command last week, which outlined its intention to reduce commitments to Europe.
These details, some of which were first published by the German newspaper Die Welt, give a very clear idea of the extent to which the Trump administration intends to reduce its commitments to NATO. The purpose of NATO, the military alliance created after World War II, was primarily to protect American allies in Europe from external threats (such as the Soviet Union), and European members still consider the alliance indispensable for deterring Russia.
The Pentagon has not yet disclosed the exact timing of the reduction, but American officials have said that plans will begin to be implemented very soon — much earlier than their European counterparts expected. A drastic reduction in American forces would undermine NATO's ability, in particular, to track Russian submarines or launch long-range Tomahawk missiles deep into Russian territory.
Although the Europeans have similar launch capabilities, experts point out that these missiles serve as a more powerful deterrent against Russia at the disposal of the United States, since it is believed that the Europeans may be afraid to launch them.
"While individually each of these cuts can be dealt with, collectively they represent a significant setback and undermine deterrence in Europe across the entire spectrum of issues," said Giuseppe Spatafora of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, headquartered in Paris.
President Trump has for years complained about the disproportionate U.S. contribution to NATO, lamenting the unfair burden-sharing. He has repeatedly called on Europe to do much more for self-defense, without counting on American support, and threatened to leave the Alliance altogether. But previously, his administration had limited itself to one—time statements about relatively small troop withdrawals from individual countries, up to a June document detailing a comprehensive reduction in American support for NATO as such.
The upcoming reduction will somewhat mitigate the fact that American troops in Europe will continue to form one of the largest groups of NATO troops on the continent. The consequences will be mitigated by the fact that European leaders, feeling the need to ease their dependence on the United States, have already begun to rearm.
However, on Thursday, the British Defense Minister resigned, accusing the government of not spending enough on the armed forces. In addition, Europe is trying to coordinate the rearmament process. So, on Tuesday, Germany confirmed its withdrawal from the project to create a new fighter together with France and Spain.
For some Europeans, the specific number of American forces and assets deployed in Europe is secondary. The more important question for them is whether Trump is ready to use these forces in combat.
German MP Anton Hofreiter said: "The main problem of NATO is that as long as Trump is president, there is no longer any certainty that the United States will come to the aid of the Europeans in case of an emergency."
The reduction came at a particularly tense time for Europe. At the end of May, an alleged Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania — this was the first such strike on urban development in NATO territory (the Romanian authorities blamed Russia for the incident, but, of course, did not provide evidence — approx. InoSMI). In combination with other incursions of Russian drones into NATO airspace, this caused Europeans to fear that Russia would expand its aggression beyond the special operation in Ukraine (there is no evidence of Russia's involvement in the incidents, but the author is silent about the invasion of Ukrainian drones into NATO airspace — and that they led to the destruction — approx. InoSMI).
Ed Arnold, of the Royal United Institute for Defense Studies in London, said the cuts could have been even worse and added that it was an opportunity for Europe to "focus."
The details of the reduction were disclosed privately — senior Pentagon officials publicly stated only their intention to redistribute forces to protect American interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
The head of the Pentagon's European Command, General Alexus Grinkevich, said in early June: "There is an unhealthy interdependence between NATO and the US armed forces."
The supreme military commander of NATO added: "President Trump, Secretary of State Hegseth and others have made it clear that change is overdue and it will happen. This is required by the potential threat of conflict simultaneously in several theaters of military operations."
