German Media Report U.S. Plans to Sharply Cut NATO Military Support in Europe

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[The Financial News] It has been revealed that the Trump administration has decided to sharply reduce the number of key military assets, including fighter jets, warships, and aerial refueling aircraft, that it had pledged to provide if a crisis breaks out in Europe.
On the 26th local time, Der Spiegel reported that the United States had informed NATO allies of its intention to significantly scale back the military contributions it could provide in an emergency.
According to the report, Alexander Velez-Green, a special envoy and deputy assistant secretary for policy to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, briefed senior officials from member states on the cutback plan at a closed-door meeting held last weekend at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. 
The United States plans to cut the number of strategic bombers assigned to NATO to about half of the current level and reduce fighter jet support by roughly one-third. It also intends to reduce the number of naval destroyers deployed to NATO operations and stop providing submarines in the future.
In addition, the United States has decided to sharply reduce support for reconnaissance assets, including armed drones.
The decision comes as the U.S. Department of Defense has emphasized the need to deploy more U.S. assets to the Pacific Ocean to deter China’s military power.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Defense withdrew one Army brigade stationed in Romania and canceled a plan to send a mechanized brigade to Poland this month.
However, President Donald Trump changed course and said he would send an additional 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland, which is meeting the 5% defense spending target relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He did not specify whether those forces would be moved from another European country.
\r\nPresident Donald Trump is expected to pressure European countries to increase their defense burden at the NATO summit scheduled for July in Ankara, Türkiye.
\r\nThe Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that some U.S. lawmakers have also expressed concern about the scale and pace of the planned reduction in wartime support for Europe, given that Russia remains a threat to the continent.
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence did not immediately comment on the report.
A NATO spokesperson, however, told Der Spiegel, "It is true that NATO’s military planning has long relied too heavily on the United States," adding, "As Europe and Canada increase defense investment, this could become an opportunity to rebalance military responsibilities within the alliance," signaling a possible shift toward a Europe-led defense framework.
\r\nNATO spokesperson Martin O'Donnell said that individual burden-sharing among member states will be discussed next month and expressed optimism that higher defense spending by those countries will transform the alliance into "a stronger and fairer alliance."
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jjyoon@fnnews.com Yoon Jae-joon Reporter