The redeployment of U.S. troops from Europe will be an ongoing process for several years, even if there’s no exact timeline, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said in a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday, following a meeting of NATO military chiefs.

“What we’re basically saying is, as the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the U.S. to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” Grynkewich said. “So we should expect there to be a redeployment of U.S. forces over time as allies build their capacity.”

The remark comes as Polish government leaders expressed concern about the Pentagon abruptly canceling a planned rotation of an armored brigade combat team of more than 4,000 soldiers to the country on NATO’s eastern flank.

The military chiefs discussed the U.S. decision to redeploy the armored brigade combat team, which Grynkewich said doesn’t impact what he called “executability” of NATO’s regional plans. He said the U.S. is withdrawing a total of 5,000 troops from Europe, with the armored brigade combat team accounting for a large part, as well as the cancellation of a long-range fires battalion deployment.

Grynkewich said planning is ongoing to redeploy “additional minor elements” accounting for another several hundred troops.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed animosity towards European NATO members, prompting concern in European capitals about whether American commitments to the alliance still hold. The Pentagon said earlier this month it will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, whose Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticized Washington’s handling of the war with Iran.

The withdrawal of additional troops is a decision for U.S. political leadership, according to Grynkewich. He said the timeline will “vary broadly” across different capabilities as NATO members meet spending commitments agreed in 2025 in The Hague and as they meet their capability targets.

NATO’s top military commander said a lot has happened since 2022, as the Baltic countries, Poland and “many others have really built up their ground combat power. So there’s substantially more capability in the ground domain than there was previously.”

Grynkewich name-checked the Canada-led Multinational Brigade in Latvia, which he said is fully operational and “highly effective,” and noted Germany continues to build up a brigade in Lithuania.

“As allies build up their capability, the United States is able to pull capability back and use it for other global priorities,” Grynkewich said.

The general said he’ll continue work in his joint role as the commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s top military commander, “to ensure we’ve got the right coverage in the right places to maintain deterrence.”

The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown war is now shaped by “speed, mass, software, drones, electronic warfare, space and data, areas where we have a lot to do,” said Adm. Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, at the press conference.

While NATO needs more missiles, artillery shells, air defense, high-end capabilities and stockpiles, those will not be sufficient on their own, according to Vandier. He said legacy platforms are not obsolete, but “the decisive question is the force mix” of combining ships, aircraft and tanks with robots, drones, sensors, software and new effectors.

 ”More of the same is necessary, but more of the same will not be enough by far,” Vandier said. “If we want mass and speed, we need to know how we can build fast, produce at scale, adapt quickly, and still deliver real operational effect. And we need to identify which part of our industrial base can actually deliver it.”

The Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 24 of the jets as well as weapons, with no limits on how the arms can be used beyond compliance with humanitarian law, Eichelsheim said at a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday. Should Ukraine see a military need to use its F-16s for deep strikes into Russia, “then we have no restrictions on that,” the general said.

Ukraine used Western-supplied F-16s to shoot down Russian missiles this week in two waves of attacks targeting residential areas and energy infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Eichelsheim declined to say how many aircraft are already operating in Ukraine, citing the security of Ukrainian forces.

The Netherlands is stationing a further 18 F-16s for pilot training in Romania, and some of those aircraft could be given to Ukraine in the future, the general said. Additional airframes will become available for Ukraine as more countries in Europe shift to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, he added.

“Focus should be now on getting the pilots and technicians trained well,” Eichelsheim said. “We have the capability ready in Romania to train Ukrainian pilots. We will see now a shift from the older pilots that were trained on the MiGs that we have now converted to the F-16, towards young pilots that are coming out of the training pipeline.”

The biggest challenge will be to sustain the F-16 fleet with personnel and materiel, the Dutch general said. The Netherlands is providing Ukraine money and data to keep the jets flying, with parts delivery and aircraft overhaul to be handled mainly by civilian contractors employed by the Ukrainian government.

“That will be done inside Ukraine, and we will be providing the Ukrainians with the financial assets to do that,” Eichelsheim said. “Understand that are always difficulties in this, because you have then perhaps foreigners working on Ukrainian soil. So there will be always a risk involved there.”

F-16s and their airfields will be a primary target for Russia, and protecting them will require layered air defense, according to Eichelsheim. Ukraine has a good sensor system that provides enough early warning to allow the jets to react to threats, the general said.

Eichelsheim met with officials in Washington to discuss the Dutch initiative to supply Ukraine with additional Patriot systems, as Zelenskyy is expected to request more air-defense assets following Russia’s air attacks this week.

He described Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast as “technically very well executed,” using maneuverability and new techniques and technologies to quickly seize terrain. Kyiv’s military could choose to expand the push there, Eichelsheim said, in which case Ukraine’s allies should be prepared to ponder an military-aid request from Kyiv to sustain the presence in the Russian oblast.

The operation boosted Ukrainian morale, and has given the country a bargaining chip with Russia.

“From a military perspective, they can then provide dilemmas for the Russian Federation, and I think that’s what they should do,” Eichelsheim said. “You have to give them the maneuverability to win the fight, if it is so static on the other front,” he added, referring to fighting in Ukraine.

Russia has kept up its Donbas offensive for now, while Ukraine has depleted part of its reserves with the Kursk incursion, and time will tell whether the operation was a strategic success, according to the general.

“But strategically, you would like to see a reaction coming out of the Russian forces, and that’s a reaction we still did not see.”

The continued Russian focus on Donbas “shows something” about how Russian leader Vladimir Putin sees his territory and people, according to Eichelsheim. “If I was a Russian, I would be worried about it.”

With both sides dug in “quite deeply,” it will be very hard for Ukraine to regain territory, and for Ukraine to take the offensive will require materiel for more brigades, including artillery ammunition, fighting vehicles, main battle tanks and electronic warfare assets, according to Eichelsheim.

The Dutch general met with arms maker RTX during his Washington visit to discuss cooperation between U.S. and European companies. Conversations revolved around how missiles needed by Europe and Ukraine, such as FIM-92 Stingers, AIM-120 AMRAAMs and interceptors for the Patriot system, can be built more quickly.

Eichelsheim said he received a “very positive” response, and now European countries will need to provide more clarity on their needs and timetables, and what their respective industrial bases can contribute.

“We have to work the details out in the near future,” Eichelsheim said. “But also, how can we discuss this with the U.S. government? Because they play an important role as well. It’s U.S. technology that needs to be produced and shared.”

Ruitenberg reported from Paris; Robertson reported from Washington.

WASHINGTON, LONDON and PARIS — Several nations have announced their contributions to Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new multinational security initiative in the Middle East to help protect merchant ships in the Red Sea area from drones and missiles.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formally announced the effort Dec. 18, after previously hinting that collective action is required to protect civilian ships in the region.

To date, Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched at least 100 attacks with one-way drones and ballistic missiles, targeting 10 merchant vessels that represent more than 35 different nations, according to a readout of a virtual meeting between security group participants.

“Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity,” Austin said Dec. 18.

He noted this effort will fall under the purview of the Combined Maritime Forces — a multinational maritime partnership based in Bahrain — and its Task Force 153. The CMF is made up of 39 nations, and its various task forces help secure the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some task forces also focus on countering piracy across the region as well as and training and partner-building activities.

About 20,000 commercial vessels transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden every year, according to the French Navy. Task Force 153 specifically covers the Red Sea and was established in 2022 to address human trafficking and smuggling of both legal materials like coal and illegal weapons and drugs, Defense News previously reported.

The readout of Austin’s meeting noted that task force “could be leveraged to deter attacks under the CMF,” but the Defense Department declined to provide additional information.

Here are some details about forces participating in Operation Prosperity Guardian.

Britain

Britain has committed a Type 45 destroyer equipped with air defense weapons to the international task force.

The Defence Ministry announced Dec. 19 the destroyer HMS Diamond will lead the Royal Navy’s contribution to Operation Prosperity Guardian.

HMS Diamond has been in the region for a little more than two weeks and moved to the Red Sea on Saturday. It was almost immediately called into action to shoot down a suspected Houthi drone aimed at a commercial ship in the area. This was first time the Royal Navy shot down an aerial target since the Gulf War in 1991.

“This is an international problem that requires an international solution. That is why HMS Diamond has joined Operation Prosperity Guardian,” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said while announcing the work with the security group.

British forces have been on hand with a small fleet of ships in the region. For example, the military operates a flotilla out of Bahrain that includes the frigate HMS Lancaster, three mine-hunting vessels and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship.

Italy

Italy will do its part to counter “destabilizing terrorist activity” by sending the multimission frigate Virginio Fasan to the Red Sea, the country’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and Austin discussed maritime security in a video call Tuesday, including options for securing shipping routes to avoid economic repercussions and “dangerous impacts” on commodity prices.

“It’s necessary to increase the presence in the area in order to create the conditions for stabilization, to avoid environmental disasters and also to avoid a resurgence of the inflationary push,” Crosetto said in the statement.

France

The French multimission frigate Languedoc has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden and the southern area of the Red Sea since Dec. 8 to secure freedom of navigation, the French Navy said in a Dec. 15 statement.

The Languedoc shot down two drones coming from the direction of Yemen that appeared hostile on the second day of its patrol duty. The frigate destroyed a drone threatening the Norwegian oil tanker Strinda on Dec. 11, before moving in to protect the stricken tanker and prevent a hijacking, according to the Navy. A fire aboard the Strinda was brought under control without injuries.

Norway

Norway will dispatch as many as 10 staff officers to the Combined Maritime Forces, the Norwegian Defence Ministry said.

Marita Isaksen Wangberg, a ministry spokesperson, told Defense News the country isn’t sending any vessels.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands plans to contribute two staff officers to the operation. The country doesn’t have any vessels in the area at this time, and the contribution of ships is under review, Navy spokesperson Alex Kranenburg told Defense News.

Spain

Spain has not made a decision regarding its participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian, the Defence Ministry’s spokesperson, Nuria Fernández de la Fuente, told Defense News. Any participation by Spain, the representative added, would not be unilateral but within the framework of NATO or the European Union.

Romanian and Ukrainian pilots will use the aircraft, which arrived at Fetesti Air Base in southeast Romania on Tuesday, at the European F-16 training center, the ministry explained. The training center will be officially opened “in the near future,” the ministry added.

The Netherlands and Denmark are in charge of coordinating European efforts to provide Ukraine with F-16 capabilities, and the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin will provide training support and help maintain the aircraft.

The Dutch government has said it will make 12-18 F-16s available for training purposes, with the aircraft remaining the property of the Netherlands and solely flying in NATO airspace.

F-16 instructors will use those jets in a refresher course. They will then train Romanian and Ukrainian pilots.

The Netherlands has also set a goal of teaching Ukrainian personnel how to maintain F-16s. The Dutch government said in August that training had already begun in the U.K. and Denmark. The U.S. confirmed it started training Ukrainian military pilots on the F-16 in October.

The Dutch government in August also promised to provide Ukraine with F-16s, but insisted a number of conditions are met, including that enough Ukrainians are trained to operate the jet and that infrastructure at Ukrainian airfields is made suitable to operate the fighter.

The Netherlands is buying a total of 52 F-35 jets to replace its fleet of F-16s, with the planned last flight of the latter in 2024. The Netherlands in June 2022 ordered an additional six F-35s, with 33 of the aircraft delivered and operational as of September 2023.

The Netherlands said that, as of Nov. 3, it has supplied €2.1 billion (U.S. $2.3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine amid its fight against a Russian invasion.