United States planning to reduce military assets allocated to NATO in Europe

The United States is reportedly planning a significant reduction of aircraft and naval vessels dedicated to NATO operations in Europe. According to sources cited by The New York Times, this reorganization may limit the alliance's capacity for long-range strikes and surveillance missions. Planned reductions include decreasing the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from 150 to 100, cutting maritime patrol aircraft from 26 to 15, and withdrawing all eight aerial refueling tankers currently stationed in Europe. Furthermore, the U.S. may redeploy a cruise missile submarine and an aircraft carrier, along with its associated strike group, to other regions. One of the two bomber squadrons currently tasked with European defense could also be moved elsewhere. While the U.S. European Command announced a general plan to restructure its NATO contribution last week, officials provided no specific details. NATO and the U.S. Department of Defense have not yet commented on the report, and Reuters stated it could not independently verify the claims.