US Plans Significant Reduction in NATO Aircraft and Warships in Europe

The United States has informed its European partners of its intention to significantly reduce the number of aircraft and warships it makes available to NATO in Europe. According to the New York Times, citing two senior European officials, Washington detailed its planned arms redeployments in a written document shared with allies in early June.

These changes could affect NATO's capacity for long-range strikes and surveillance operations. The alliance is already navigating criticism from Donald Trump, who began his second term in January 2025. A NATO summit is scheduled to take place in Turkey in July, where President Trump is expected to attend after sharply criticizing European nations for not joining the U.S.-led war against Iran.

The reported plan includes reducing the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from approximately 150 to 100. Additionally, the U.S. intends to decrease maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15 and eliminate eight aerial refueling tankers previously allocated to Europe. The timeline for these adjustments has not been specified.

Donald Trump has long advocated for European nations to assume greater responsibility for their own security, though his statements on the matter have sometimes been contradictory. For instance, he recently surprised European allies by announcing the deployment of an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, only days after announcing the withdrawal of a similar number from Germany. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in early June that while NATO remains important, it requires significant changes, calling the upcoming summit in Ankara potentially the most important in the alliance's history.