U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated a major six-month review of American military presence in Europe, dubbed “NATO 3.0,” while significant cuts to U.S. forces assigned to the alliance are already taking effect, NATO officials confirmed Thursday.

The review aims to shift primary responsibility for European defense to European allies, with Hegseth stating that the assessment will identify which nations are prepared to step up and which are not. “Some countries will fail,” he told defense ministers, “while others will pass with flying colors.”

Speaking alongside the announcement, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that reductions to the alliance’s NATO Force Model (NFM) — the pool of high-readiness forces available for rapid crisis response — are already underway. “It is immediate,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels, wrote SOFX.

According to a military source cited by Reuters, the cuts include slashing the number of U.S. F-15 and F-15E fighter jets committed to NATO by one-third, down to 99 aircraft; halving the MQ-4 and MQ-9 Reaper drone contingent to just 12; and withdrawing all eight previously designated U.S. aerial refueling tankers from European operations.

President Donald Trump was pictured overseeing related military planning, with Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine present, during “Operation Epic Fury” at Mar-a-Lago on March 1, 2026.

Hegseth further tied future U.S. financial contributions to NATO to allies meeting higher defense spending targets. He sharply criticized nations that restricted U.S. access to European bases and airspace during the recent Iran conflict, saying they “put America’s sons and daughters at risk by denying them predictable access, basing, and overflight.”

In response, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken pledged additional F-16 fighters and MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones to help offset the U.S. reductions. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius cautioned against “dangerous capability gaps,” particularly in deep-strike capabilities, and urged a coordinated transition to avoid vulnerabilities.

The developments come ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara, Turkey. Rutte said he expects all 32 member nations to present “clear, concrete, and credible” plans to meet the alliance’s new 5% of GDP defense spending target.

The “NATO 3.0” review signals a broader Trump administration push to rebalance transatlantic security burdens, with Washington demanding faster and more substantial commitments from European partners.