Other NATO members have increased their contributions to the Alliance's crisis response force to fill many of the gaps left after the United States reduced its commitments, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced today.
The US informed allies last month that it had decided to reduce the amount of national military capabilities it makes available to the transatlantic alliance in the event of a crisis, raising urgent questions as leaders prepare for a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8.
"There are areas where more work needs to be done, but the overall picture looks good," Rutte told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, ahead of a meeting of the alliance's defense ministers on Thursday. He did not provide further details.
US Air Force General Alexus Grinkevich, NATO's supreme commander and commander of US forces in Europe, said this month that Washington expects European allies and Canada to quickly increase the number of aircraft and ships they make available to the Alliance's defense plans.
The US has not publicly released details of the reduction, but it covers everything from aerial refueling aircraft to fighter jets, drones and ships, according to a military source told Reuters.
The number of US F-15 and F-15E fighter jets available to NATO will be reduced by a third, to 99, and the number of MQ-4 and MQ-9 Reaper drones halved, to 12, the source said.
The number of KC-135 and KC-46 refueling aircraft is reduced from 79 to 63, while only one strategic bomber and one aircraft carrier would be assigned to the Alliance, instead of two.
The number of maritime patrol aircraft is falling from 26 to 15, the number of destroyers from 17 to nine, and the only submarine carrying cruise missiles is exempt from obligations.
NATO is under unprecedented pressure, with some European countries concerned that Washington could make good on US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to withdraw.
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