NATO Allies to Replace U.S. Military Assets Withdrawn from Alliance Pool

BRUSSELS — European NATO allies have already committed to replacing most of the battlefield kit the U.S. is withdrawing from its allocation to the alliance, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday.

Washington told NATO allies late last month it would pull a wide range of military capabilities, including strategic bombers, fighter jets, drones, submarines and warships, from the pool of assets the alliance can draw on in times of war.

“What we are working on is to make sure that what the U.S. has been providing so far will be filled,” he told reporters in Brussels. “Most of [and] a lot of it done — some of it nearly, and some of it requiring more debates and discussions.”

“The U.S. is saying, ‘we have adjusted our contributions to the NATO force model,’ that means other allies have to step up,” Rutte said, adding: “We see that European allies and Canada are ready, willing and able to do more.”

The U.S. told allies last month that its decision would take effect immediately, according to two NATO diplomats and one person familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity to speak freely. Frankfurter<h4> Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung first reported the timeline.</h4>

In practice, the U.S. drawdowns mean these capabilities will no longer be included in NATO war plans, but may still be deployed by Washington during war.

In response, European allies are scrambling to step up and replace those military assets. Some of those are likely to be like-for-like substitutions based on offers from allies, the diplomats said, while others may require creative thinking — including replacing traditional aerial assets with drones. Others still, like strategic bombers, will prove more challenging, given that Europe has no replacement.

“Allies will commit their new offers by the beginning of July … with immediate activation,” said one of the diplomats, in time for the alliance's July 7-8 Ankara summit. “So, if adequate offers are made, there will be no gap whatsoever.”

“European allies [have] started to deliver ... on capabilities,” said a third NATO diplomat, adding: “We design [the plans] with all interested [allies] and contributors at the table, so we have a margin there on capabilities and timelines.”

The reductions reflect a long-running effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to pare back America’s role in an alliance he has repeatedly criticized as useless to Washington. It also underscores the administration’s military pivot toward other regions, like the Indo-Pacific.