Trump to Cut U.S. Military Role for NATO

JAKARTA - The United States plans to significantly reduce its military contribution to NATO. A report by German magazine Der Spiegel said senior officials from the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) conveyed the plan in a closed meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels last week.

European officials are said to be surprised by the magnitude of the US planned military reduction.

US Deputy Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Alexander Velez-Green, is reported to have said that the US would reduce the assets allocated to NATO combat-ready forces.

The reduction includes the number of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), fighter jets, aerial refueling aircraft, warships, and other naval assets ready to be deployed.

The magazine also reported that the US would reduce the number of strategic bomber aircraft allocated to NATO.

The US is also said to be considering reducing its contribution of fighter planes to the alliance by about a third.

According to unnamed diplomatic and military sources, the US will also reduce the number of destroyers available to NATO.

The US is also reported to have no plans to provide submarines for the NATO Force Model.

Military sources said the US would still maintain its nuclear deterrent forces in Europe.

However, the US asked European countries to take the main responsibility for conventional defense.

According to the source, the reduction is intended to give the US greater flexibility in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region without having to be bound by commitments to specific assets for NATO.