New York Times: US plans to significantly reduce the number of its planes and ships available to NATO in Europe

The United States (US) plans to significantly reduce the number of its aircraft and ships at the disposal of NATO in Europe, the American newspaper The New York Times reports today, citing two unnamed senior European officials.

This would limit the military alliance's ability to carry out long-range attacks and conduct surveillance.

The US communicated the decision to its allies in early June in a written document, parts of which were seen by The New York Times.

The US is planning to reduce the number of its F-16 and F-15E fighters from 150 to 100 and the number of maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15.

All eight refueling tanker aircraft will be withdrawn from Europe, as well as a missile-launching submarine and an aircraft carrier with escort aircraft and several warships.

One of the two bomber groups will also be withdrawn.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the specific numbers in the document and referred to a statement from its European Command last week, which stated generally that it intends to reduce the presence of US forces in Europe.

The US military has not yet announced a timeline for the withdrawal, but US officials have previously indicated that it will take effect very soon, much sooner than European countries had expected.

A sharp reduction in the number of US forces in Europe would affect NATO's ability to track the movements of Russian submarines or launch long-range Tomahawk missiles deep into Russian territory, according to the New York Times.