U.S. to Cut Strategic Bombers, Fighter Jets and Warships Available to NATO

The United States plans to reduce the number of strategic bombers, fighter jets and warships it makes available to NATO allies during a crisis, according to multiple reports. An envoy of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed senior NATO officials in Brussels late last week on the planned reductions, German outlet Der Spiegel reported. S.

fighter jets committed to the alliance is set to fall by a third, while the number of strategic bombers would be halved, the reports said.

Naval and Drone Adjustments The U.S.

Navy will make fewer destroyers available and will no longer provide any submarines to NATO, according to the Spiegel account. S. plans to scale back its provision of armed drones. Refueling aircraft used for long-range operations were also reported to be at risk under the new posture.

U.S. in force planning and that responsibilities could be reorganized as Europe and Canada increase defense spending. S. contribution to the alliance’s force model was under discussion but declined to provide details. Washington is expected to provide further information at a force generation conference scheduled for early June.

“Of course, this is highly classified because we don’t want to make anyone any wiser, but this is a process in place, this is nothing new.”