Hegseth's NATO 3.0: US Launches Six-Month Pentagon Review of Europe Forces, Threatens Alliance Funding

On June 18, 2026, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a combative address at NATO headquarters in Brussels, announcing a major review of American military forces in Europe while sharply criticizing NATO allies for what he described as chronic under-spending and insufficient political will . The speech marked a significant escalation in Washington's push to reshape the transatlantic alliance, introducing a framework Hegseth called "NATO 3.0" .

The Six-Month Pentagon Review

Hegseth announced a six-month Pentagon review of the U.S. military footprint, force posture, and basing in Europe, designed to assess how quickly European allies can take primary responsibility for their own defense . He described it as a "thorough examination" and warned that the review would distinguish between allies that succeed and those that fall short .

The review will be led by Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of U.S. European Command, and will involve input from Congress and NATO allies . Hegseth emphasized this would be a "real review" with no predetermined outcome .

"This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe."

Criticisms of NATO Allies

Hegseth leveled sharp criticism at NATO allies on two main fronts. First, he condemned their refusal to grant U.S. forces access to European bases for military operations against Iran, calling the response "shameful" and "disgraceful" . Second, he accused some allies of persistently falling short on defense spending, arguing that the U.S. was seeking more capable partners rather than maintaining one-sided security arrangements .

In his prepared remarks, Hegseth echoed President Trump's characterization of NATO as a "paper tiger" and a "one-way street" where the U.S. has carried an unfair burden for too long .

Conditions on U.S. Funding for NATO

Hegseth tied future U.S. financial contributions to NATO's operational budget directly to allies' defense spending performance . He warned that "annual NATO dues will be contingent on other countries meeting their defense spending targets" and that "where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues contributions will go down" .

The Trump administration is pushing NATO members toward a new defense spending benchmark of 5% of GDP by 2035, of which 3.5% is allocated for core defense and 1.5% for associated infrastructure . Hegseth previously stated in May 2026 that the U.S. expects allies to commit to at least 3.5% of GDP on defense, signaling Washington will focus collaboration on "model allies" who meet that threshold .

"The era of the United States subsidizing the defense of wealthy nations is over. We need partners, not protectorates."

'NATO 3.0' — A Reboot of the Alliance

Hegseth framed the proposed transformation as "NATO 3.0" — a reboot of the alliance under which Europe would take a greater lead role in its own conventional defense while the U.S. reassesses its military presence on the continent . The review and the new framework were presented as part of a broader effort to shift more defense responsibility to European allies, moving the alliance "from a one-way street to a two-way street" .

Prior U.S. Military Reductions: What Was Disclosed in Early June

In early June, the U.S. informed allies that it was significantly reducing its commitments under the NATO Force Model (NFM), the alliance's high-readiness crisis-response pool . The reductions, described as a substantial cut to aircraft and naval vessels designated for NATO operations in Europe, included :

• One-third of U.S. fighter jets assigned to NATO in Europe — cutting the fleet from approximately 150 F-16 and F-15E jets to about 100 .
• All long-range reconnaissance drones, including MQ-9 Reapers .
• A reduction in strategic bomber commitments — halving the U.S. bomber contribution to the NATO force pool .
• All submarines withdrawn from the NATO force pool .
• Half of aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers assigned to NATO operations in Europe .

The specific numbers reported include a reduction from 153 aircraft (99 F-16s and 54 F-15Es) to 99 (63 F-16s and 36 F-15Es), and the elimination of all eight aerial refueling tanker jets previously allocated to European operations .

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte acknowledged on June 17 that a reduction in U.S. contributions was already under way and said other allies had increased their own contributions to fill some of the resulting gaps .

Additional European Policy Criticisms

Beyond base access and defense spending, Hegseth criticized European allies for persistent underinvestment in military modernization and insufficient political will to strengthen their own defense capabilities . He argued that too many allies had not moved quickly enough to take on more responsibility for European security, saying in the official Pentagon transcript that "too many allied capitals seem to still miss something in translation" . He also attacked European migration and gender policies during the roundtable meeting .

The Nuclear Planning Group Statement

No information was available in the provided sources to confirm details about a Nuclear Planning Group statement. This appears to be a separate development not covered in the available reporting.

Next NATO Summit

The available sources indicate that leaders are preparing for an upcoming NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8, 2026 . The central tensions going forward are burden-sharing, the U.S. force review, European defense spending, and the proposed "NATO 3.0" framework .