US tells NATO allies to fill military gaps left by American drawdown

The United States has called on NATO allies to fill the gaps that will be left by a reduction in American military assets.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said Wednesday in a statement that he expects European nations and Canada to rapidly expand their manned and unmanned aircraft and naval vessel capabilities to meet NATO defense planning requirements.

Grynkewich said the move was driven by a structural problem within the alliance. "There has been an unhealthy interdependence that has persisted in the NATO Force Model," he said.

"President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and others have made clear that change is needed and that change will happen," he said, adding that the shift was intended to prepare for a reality in which conflicts could break out simultaneously across multiple theaters.

Trump has long criticized NATO allies for free-riding on American military power. He has argued that European nations must take greater responsibility for maintaining the conventional forces needed to defend themselves.

In line with that position, the United States notified allies last month that it would reduce its contributions to the NATO Force Model — the alliance's framework for rapid military response to threats including those from Russia.

Washington did not specify at the time which assets would be cut, the scale of the reductions, or when they would take effect.

However, defense sources said the assets likely to be partially withdrawn from Europe include aerial refueling tankers, fighter jets, drones and warships.

Grynkewich's explicit mention of manned and unmanned aircraft and naval vessels marks the first public confirmation of which capability areas face cuts.

"The two areas where European and Canadian allies can accelerate right now, in a short period of time, as the United States reduces forces assigned to the NFM in Europe to focus elsewhere, are manned and unmanned aircraft and naval vessels," he said.

Reuters, citing sources, reported that under the plan the number of US F-15 and F-15E fighter jets would be cut by one-third to 99, while MQ-4 and MQ-9 Reaper drones would be halved to 12.

NATO allies in Europe have expressed serious concern as the Trump administration scales back US contributions to the alliance at a time when the security landscape has shifted sharply — shaped by Russia's war in Ukraine and the conflict between the United States and Iran.

NATO spokesperson US Army Col. Martin O'Donnell pushed back, saying the areas Grynkewich cited were ones where allies already had sufficient capabilities.

"There will be no reduction in defensive capability," O'Donnell said. "Nations just need to assign the capabilities they have to NATO."

Security experts, however, warned that the US decision could send the wrong political signal to both allies and Russia, regardless of the specifics.

Jim Townsend, senior fellow for transatlantic security at the Center for a New American Security, said the United States should be amplifying its support for Europe in the face of Russian pressure — not drawing down forces. "This is not the time to reduce US forces in Europe and cut the military commitments made to NATO," he said.