The US plans to withdraw a third of the fighter jets it has supplied to Europe. This could have an impact on the war in Ukraine — NYT
This is reported by the New York Times, citing two senior European officials.
According to the publication, an official document setting out the reduction plan was sent to allies in early June. This, sources claim, will limit NATO’s ability to conduct reconnaissance and launch strikes over long distances. The US, in particular, plans to:
- reduce the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from 150 to 100;
- reduce the number of maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and completely withdraw all eight refuelling aircraft;
- redeploy one missile-armed submarine, an aircraft carrier and several warships;
- reduce one of the two bomber groups assigned to the defence of Europe.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the document, but referred to its previous statements regarding its intentions to reduce its commitments in European countries. US officials also stated that they were preparing for troop reductions ‘much sooner than their European counterparts had anticipated’.
“A sharp reduction in US forces would affect NATO’s ability, for example, to monitor the movements of Russian submarines or to launch long-range Tomahawk missiles deep into Russia,” the NYT concludes.
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