The decision will impact NATO’s ability to launch long-range attacks and guarantee territorial security
The United States plans to significantly reduce the number of aircraft and warships made available for NATO operations in Europe, reports this Friday, citing two senior European officials. The decision will impact NATO’s ability to launch long-range attacks and guarantee territorial security.
The decision was reportedly communicated to allies in early June in a written document, parts of which were analyzed by The New York Times.
Planned reductions include:
- Reduce the number of F-16 and F-15E fighters from approximately 150 to 100.
- Reduce maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15 and cut all eight aerial refueling tankers so far available to Europe.
- Deploy a missile-launching submarine and an aircraft carrier, along with several warships and dozens of jets that participate in the carrier’s missions.
- Deploy one of the two groups of bombers previously deployed to the defense of Europe.
Some of which were initially reported by the German newspaper Die Welt. To the newspaper, the Pentagon refused to comment on the specific numbers of the document and referred to a statement from its European Command last week, which referred in general terms to its intention to reduce its commitments in Europe.
The Trump administration had already announced that it intended to reduce its commitment to NATO, a military alliance created after World War II. NATO’s main objective was to protect American allies in Europe from external threats such as the Soviet Union, and its European members still consider it essential to their ability to deter Russia.
The Pentagon has not yet publicly revealed the timetable for the withdrawal, but North American sources interviewed by the NYT indicated that it will come into force soon — much sooner than their European counterparts predicted. The abrupt cut in US forces will affect NATO’s ability to, for example, monitor Russian submarine traffic or launch long-range Tomahawk missiles into Russian territory.
