US tells Europe, Canada to boost NATO air and naval forces

BRUSSELS — The U.S. expects European NATO allies and Canada to swiftly increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft and ships they contribute to the alliance’s defense plans as Washington steps back in these areas, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday.

The statement by U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander and the head of U.S. forces in Europe, followed a decision by the Trump administration to shrink the pool of U.S. military capabilities available to NATO in a crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO and told its European members they will have to take over primary responsibility for the conventional defense of the continent.

The U.S. told allies last month of its decision to reduce its contribution to a framework known as the NATO Force Model, which includes a pool of forces that could be activated during a crisis. But it did not publicly disclose any details.

Grynkewich’s statement, issued after a meeting of NATO military planners on Wednesday, was the first public indication of what areas the U.S. plans to cut first and where it expects allies to step in.

Manned and unmanned aircraft and naval vessels are two areas where Canada and European allies “can step up now and in the near term - as the United States reduces forces ‘sourced’ to the NATO Force Model in Europe and refocuses them elsewhere,” he said.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), speaks during a press conference at NATO Headquarters on May 19, 2026, in Brussels, Belgium. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)

“There has been an unhealthy co-dependence in the NATO Force Model on U.S. forces,” Grynkewich said in his written statement. “President (Donald) Trump, (Defense) Secretary (Pete) Hegseth and others have been clear that this needs to change, and it will change. The potential reality of simultaneous conflict in multiple theaters demands it.”

NATO expects no gaps

The NATO alliance is under unprecedented strain, with some European countries concerned that Washington may withdraw outright. A major adjustment to the forces the U.S. would make available during wartime will only intensify those concerns.

A spokesperson for NATO’s military headquarters, U.S. Army Col. Martin O’Donnell, said the areas mentioned by Grynkewich were “where allies already have or soon will have sufficient capabilities, meaning no defence gaps are expected to emerge.”

“Nations just need to assign the capabilities they have to NATO,” he added.

O’Donnell declined to elaborate on when Grynkewich expected allied nations, whose leaders will meet at a NATO summit in Ankara in July, to have replaced the U.S. capabilities.

The number of U.S. fighter jets available to NATO is set to fall by a third, and the U.S. will also make fewer U.S. destroyers and no U.S. submarines available as part of the crisis pool, according to a report last week by German news outlet Spiegel.

Europe will also be forced to provide its own reconnaissance drones, while the U.S. plans to significantly scale back the provision of armed models, the report added.

布鲁塞尔——一位美国高级将领周三表示，随着华盛顿在这些领域退缩，美国希望欧洲北约盟国和加拿大迅速增加其向联盟防御计划贡献的有人和无人驾驶飞机及舰艇的数量。

美国空军上将亚历克西斯·格林克维奇是北约最高指挥官和驻欧美军司令，他发表声明之前，特朗普政府决定缩减美国在危机中可供北约使用的军事能力。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普多次批评北约，并告诉其欧洲成员国，它们必须承担起欧洲大陆常规防御的主要责任。

美国上个月告知盟国，决定减少其在北约部队模式框架下的兵力投入。该框架包含一支可在危机期间启动的部队储备。但美国并未公开披露任何细节。

格林克维奇在周三北约军事规划人员会议后发表的声明，首次公开表明了美国计划首先削减哪些领域的开支，以及希望盟友在哪些领域介入。

他说，有人驾驶和无人驾驶飞机以及海军舰艇是加拿大和欧洲盟友“现在和近期可以加大投入的两个领域——因为美国正在减少‘源自’欧洲北约部队模式的兵力，并将其重新集中到其他地方”。

2026年5月19日，美国空军上将、欧洲盟军最高司令亚历克西斯·G·格林克维奇在比利时布鲁塞尔北约总部举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。（图片来源：Omar Havana/Getty Images）

格林克维奇在书面声明中表示：“北约部队模式对美军存在不健康的依赖性。特朗普总统、国防部长赫格塞斯和其他人士都明确表示，这种情况必须改变，而且也必将改变。多战区同时发生冲突的潜在现实要求我们这样做。”

北约预计不会出现任何缺口

北约联盟正面临前所未有的压力，一些欧洲国家担心华盛顿可能会彻底退出。美国对战时兵力部署的重大调整只会加剧这些担忧。

北约军事总部发言人、美国陆军上校马丁·奥唐纳表示，格林克维奇提到的地区“盟国已经拥有或即将拥有足够的能力，这意味着预计不会出现防御缺口”。

“各国只需要将自身拥有的能力分配给北约，”他补充道。

奥唐纳拒绝详细说明格林克维奇预计盟国（其领导人将于 7 月在安卡拉举行北约峰会）何时能够取代美国的能力。

据德国新闻媒体《明镜周刊》上周报道，美国向北约提供的战斗机数量将减少三分之一，美国还将减少向北约提供的驱逐舰数量，并且不会提供任何美国潜艇作为危机应对力量。

报告还指出，欧洲也将被迫提供自己的侦察无人机，而美国计划大幅缩减武装型无人机的供应。