The United States has delivered a document to NATO containing a plan for the reduction of the American military presence in Europe, including air force and navy. The reason for this disengagement, which for the first time is put down in detail, would be the shift in American strategic focus towards the Pacific region. The German newspaper Welt revealed the US plan, having analyzed the documentation presented to NATO.
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Reduction of F-16 fighters and tanker aircraft
According to Welt, the documents delivered to the Atlantic Alliance contain a rather concise table, consisting of eleven items and numerous abbreviations. This small list, classified as “Secret,” for the first time concretely shows which military capabilities the United States intends to withdraw from NATO. The cuts would primarily concern the NATO Force Model, which establishes how many and which forces the Alliance can deploy on the front line within ten days, between ten and thirty days, and, at most, within six months. Regarding the deployed assets, the first reductions concern air forces. The number of KC-135 tanker aircraft provided by the United States to the Alliance would be reduced from 71 to 63; the eight modern KC-46s would be completely removed from planning; F-16 fighters would decrease from 99 to 63 units; F-15Es from 54 to 36.
Cuts also for drones and ships
Furthermore, Washington plans to completely eliminate all long-range strategic reconnaissance drones from NATO planning and to reduce the number of MQ-9 attack drones by almost half. As for the naval component, the United States intends to withdraw one of the two aircraft carrier strike groups; almost half of the cruiser and destroyer formations; and submarine capabilities for launching cruise missiles. The number of Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft would also be reduced from 26 to 15, the German newspaper adds. A reduction in bomber aviation is also planned: of the two bomber groups currently planned, only one would remain.
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How to fill the void
The German newspaper emphasizes that the question of how to fill the gaps left by the reduction in the American contribution will be discussed in mid-June at the level of the Defense Ministries of the allied countries. An agreed position should be presented during the NATO summit on July 7-8 in Ankara. However, according to Welt, the United States does not intend to give up key command positions within the Alliance structure. In particular, US military personnel would continue to hold the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), as well as the tactical commands of land, naval, and air forces. Only the operational level of command would be entirely entrusted to Europeans.
