Speaking ahead of a NATO defense ministers' summit in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of U.S. force posture and basing in Europe, tying its outcome to how quickly European allies assume primary responsibility for the Continent's defense, a June 18 transcript by the U.S. Department of Defense shows. Bloomberg also reported on June 17 that U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing asking U.S. defense companies to produce weapons under license in Europe and Ukraine.

The United States is gradually drawing down its conventional presence in Europe, pressing allies to take primary responsibility for the Continent's defense. Washington significantly increased troop deployments to Europe after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with roughly 80,000 military personnel stationed on the Continent as of 2025, nearly half of whom were based in Germany. As part of a plan to return U.S. force levels to roughly their pre-2022 footprint, Trump announced in May the withdrawal of at least 5,000 troops from Germany. He also canceled a planned Tomahawk deployment there, while pledging to station 5,000 troops in Poland after scrapping an earlier scheduled deployment of about 4,000. Allied defense ministers urged Washington to coordinate its reductions to avoid leaving Europe exposed.