According to reports citing information from NATO headquarters, the United States intends to significantly reduce its military contributions to the alliance. During a meeting with high-ranking officials from member states late last week, a representative of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth communicated this shift. Washington is reportedly planning to provide substantially fewer key military capabilities to NATO under the alliance’s designated military force model.
The specific cuts outlined include a potential halving of the deployment of strategic bombers. Furthermore, the number of US fighter jets is slated to decrease by one-third, as announced by US Ambassador Alexander Velez-Green in the secret session. The US Navy will also provide fewer destroyers, and the US intends no longer to supply submarines to the NATO coalition. Moreover, Europeans will be expected to provide their own reconnaissance drones. In short, the United States plans a noticeable step back in its armed military commitment.
Ambassador Velez-Green emphasized that NATO allies are now required to swiftly compensate for these predicted gaps. He asserted that the US remains willing to cooperate closely with all NATO partners, provided they take immediate action. The US plans to release more comprehensive details at an upcoming troop contributor conference in early June. This move follows months of pressure from Donald Trump’s administration, which repeatedly called on European nations to assume responsibility for the defense of the continent.
While NATO declined to elaborate on the implications of the US announcements, a spokesperson stated to “Spiegel” that the NATO military planning sector had historically suffered from an “over-dependency” on the United States. However, the spokesperson also noted that since Europe and Canada have been investing more heavily in defense, the military responsibilities within the alliance could be reorganized. According to the spokesperson, these changes reinforce NATO by diminishing the overly reliant relationship with a single ally.
