The US plans to sharply reduce its military contribution to NATO. An envoy for US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth briefed senior officials from other member states at NATO headquarters late last week. Washington reportedly intends to provide NATO with significantly fewer key military capabilities in the future as part of the alliance's force planning, including American fighter jets, warships, drones, and tanker aircraft, according to information obtained by the German news magazine Der Spiegel, UNN reports.
Details
The US plans to significantly reduce its existing commitments to the so-called NATO Force Model. The resulting gaps will have to be quickly filled by the Europeans themselves. The alliance agreed on this model in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It stipulates which units and military capabilities of member states the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has direct access to for ensuring the deterrence and defense of Europe.
Trump administration to reduce forces available to NATO for Europe - Reuters20.05.26, 08:59
As the publication writes, the briefing by senior Pentagon official Alexander Velez-Green was eagerly awaited in Brussels. The US has been pushing for a redistribution of the military burden within the alliance for some time. In the existing burden-sharing system, the US provided approximately half of NATO's military capabilities. Now, the US is demanding a redistribution ("burden shifting"). Last Friday, Hegseth's advisor, Velez-Green, presented specific figures to NATO political directors, outlining concrete US proposals in this regard.
The US proposals for future military planning are "more radical than the Europeans expected," the publication writes. Prior to the meeting, European diplomats assumed that discussions would involve "minor adjustments over time." However, according to information obtained by Spiegel, "the US intends, for example, to provide NATO with significantly fewer strategic bombers, and a reduction of the American fighter jet contribution by a third is also being discussed." According to European government representatives, "the crucial question is what timeframe the Americans are basing their plans on."
One way to compensate for the fighter jet deficit would be the continuous delivery of F-35 aircraft to European allies. The German Armed Forces plan to receive their first aircraft from the US next year. Poland has just received its first three F-35 fighters.
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"However, European NATO states do not have strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons," the publication writes. It adds that "the two aircraft carriers that the US previously registered for use in the NATO Force Model in the event of a potential conflict will also likely not be easy to replace."
"However, the US has made it clear that it intends to maintain nuclear deterrence in Europe within NATO. In return, it is expected that Europeans will largely take over the conventional defense of the continent on their own," the publication states.
"Accordingly, the US Navy will maintain fewer destroyers for NATO," the US envoy reported. "The US will no longer provide submarines to NATO. Europeans will also provide their own reconnaissance drones, and the US intends to significantly reduce its involvement in the use of armed drones," the publication indicates.
"The message from President Donald Trump's administration at the secret meeting was unambiguous: according to US envoy Velez-Green, allies are urged to close the emerging gaps as quickly as possible," the publication notes. "The US is ready to work closely with all NATO partners who act quickly now," he stated. "Some members of the group interpreted this as an indirect threat," the publication observes.
"From the US perspective, the planned move is logical," the publication writes. "The reduction of American capabilities is realistic and responsible," explained Pete Hegseth's advisor, against the backdrop of many Europeans investing more in defense and being able to make a greater contribution. At the NATO summit in The Hague last June, member states, under pressure from US President Trump, committed to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP.
A Turning Point in NATO
The figures provided by Pete Hegseth's envoy "herald nothing less than a turning point in NATO," the publication writes. For months, the US government has been proclaiming its vision of "NATO 3.0." According to this vision, Europeans must take over the entire conventional defense of their continent as soon as possible. Now, for the first time, other NATO members have an idea of how quickly this NATO reorientation will be implemented.
According to military experts, the figures provided by Hegseth's envoy are more significant than previously known details about the withdrawal of several thousand troops from individual European countries. "While headquarters expected Washington to reduce its own military contributions, Europeans are now expected to take action before the next meeting in early June: at the planned Force Sourcing Conference, the US expects proposals indicating which countries can step in, in which areas, and when," the publication writes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Trump's National Security Advisor, emphasized US commitments in the Indo-Pacific region, the Western Hemisphere, and the Middle East at a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Sweden last week. He stated that "the goal is to develop a plan that works for NATO, is realistic, and allows the US to prepare for a conflict on two fronts."
US defense planning has been focused on potential escalation in the Indo-Pacific region for some time. 2027 is considered a key date: "US intelligence services estimate that China will then be able to launch an attack on Taiwan," the publication writes. For months, American officials have spoken of two simultaneous threat scenarios – the unstable situation in Europe and the situation in the Indo-Pacific.
Assurances from Brussels
As the publication notes, "in principle, the US requests do not necessarily mean the withdrawal of American troops from Europe." Military sources stated that "Washington, above all, wants to achieve greater flexibility through reductions in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific." In this case, the US government "does not want to be bound by the registration of military capabilities in NATO." Furthermore, the NATO Force Model also "includes units based in the US that would only be deployed in a crisis situation."
According to military officials, "the planned reduction does not mean that the US will not intervene if a national defense emergency arises in Europe." The NATO Force Model distinguishes troops based on their operational readiness: there are troops that the Supreme Allied Commander can access within ten days at the latest, those that must be available within 10-30 days, and others that must be ready within 30-180 days.
"Nevertheless, the figures from Washington put significant pressure on the Europeans. The German government is already discussing how to respond. By early June, European NATO partners must decide what they can offer in terms of their own capabilities to close the gaps. It was stated at headquarters that Washington would like to present a new burden-sharing plan at the NATO summit in Ankara in July. Europeans are unlikely to get away with mere declarations of intent," the publication states.
NATO leadership, it is noted, is trying to downplay the issue. A spokesperson for NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told the publication that in the past, NATO force planning was "overly dependent" on the US. However, Europe and Canada are now investing more in defense, so "the burden of responsibility can be shifted."
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