Europeans to fill almost all gaps left by US in NATO defense plans, source says

European NATO allies have largely filled the gaps left by the United States in the alliance’s defense plans, NATO’s top commander said on Thursday, adding the bloc was looking at workarounds to address the remaining shortfalls in a few areas.

“In a matter of weeks, European allies have largely filled the gaps left by U.S. reductions to the NATO Force Model,” NATO’s top commander, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, said in information provided to Reuters when asked for comment on the topic.

“And in those few areas where they haven’t, where they do not currently have a like capability to replace, we are looking at alternate capabilities with matching effect.”

The U.S. told its allies in May that it had decided to shrink the pool of military capabilities committed to the transatlantic alliance in a crisis, raising urgent questions as leaders prepare for a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8.

The move is meant to gradually end an “unhealthy co-dependence” on U.S. forces as Washington faces the potential of simultaneous conflicts in multiple theaters, according to Grynkewich.

In mid-June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said other allies were increasing their contributions and would fill “a lot” of the gaps but did not give any details.

Citing a NATO source, Reuters reported on Wednesday that NATO would announce at next week’s Ankara summit that its European member have filled almost all the gaps left by the United States in the alliance’s defense plans.

The main gap NATO is still struggling to plug is in strategic bombers, where the U.S. has said it will make only one aircraft available instead of two, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

CUTS FROM FIGHTER JETS TO DRONES

The U.S. did not publicly disclose details of its reductions, but they range from refueling aircraft to fighter jets, drones and ships, according to figures provided to Reuters by a military source.

The number of U.S. F-15 and F-15E fighter jets available to NATO will fall by a third to 99 and the number of MQ-4 and MQ-9 Reaper drones by half to 12, according to the source.

The number of KC-135 and KC-46 refueling aircraft falls to 63 from 79, while only one strategic bomber and aircraft carrier would be allocated, rather than two.

The number of maritime patrol aircraft goes down to 15 from 26, the number of destroyers falls to nine from 17, and the only submarine carrying cruise missiles is also cut from the commitments.

The NATO alliance is under unprecedented strain, with some European countries concerned that Washington may fulfill repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw.

北约最高指挥官周四表示，欧洲北约盟国已基本填补了美国在联盟防御计划中留下的空白，并补充说，北约正在考虑变通办法，以解决一些领域仍然存在的不足。

“短短几周内，欧洲盟友就基本填补了美国削减北约部队模式所留下的空白，”北约最高指挥官、美国空军上将亚历克西斯·格林克维奇在被路透社问及此事时表示。

“而在少数他们还没有，或者目前还没有类似能力来替代的领域，我们正在寻找具有相同效果的替代能力。”

美国在 5 月份告诉其盟友，它已决定在危机时期缩减对跨大西洋联盟投入的军事能力，这引发了紧迫的问题，因为各国领导人正准备于 7 月 7 日至 8 日在安卡拉举行北约峰会。

格林克维奇表示，此举旨在逐步结束对美军的“不健康的相互依赖”，因为华盛顿面临着在多个战区同时发生冲突的可能性。

6月中旬，北约秘书长马克·吕特表示，其他盟国正在增加贡献，并将填补“很多”缺口，但没有透露任何细节。

路透社周三援引北约消息人士的话报道称，北约将在下周的安卡拉峰会上宣布，其欧洲成员国已经填补了美国在联盟防御计划中留下的几乎所有空白。

消息人士匿名表示，北约目前仍在努力填补的主要缺口是战略轰炸机，美国表示只会提供一架飞机而不是两架。

从战斗机转向无人机

美国没有公开披露削减的具体细节，但据一位军方消息人士向路透社提供的数据，削减范围从加油机到战斗机、无人机和舰艇。

消息人士称，北约可用的美国F-15和F-15E战斗机数量将减少三分之一，至99架；MQ-4和MQ-9“死神”无人机的数量将减少一半，至12架。

KC-135 和 KC-46 加油机的数量从 79 架减少到 63 架，而战略轰炸机和航空母舰的配额也从两架减少到一架。

海上巡逻机的数量从 26 架减少到 15 架，驱逐舰的数量从 17 艘减少到 9 艘，唯一一艘搭载巡航导弹的潜艇也被从合同中削减。

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兑现美国总统唐纳德·特朗普一再威胁的退出北约的行径。