Hegseth urges Europe to lead defence as he pitches NATO 3.0

Pete Hegseth urged European allies at NATO to take the lead in defending Europe. The push reflects Washington's scaling back of some crisis support as it prepares for wider conflicts.

In Short

• Washington may withhold key warships and aircraft during an allied crisis
• European members and Canada are drafting plans to plug those capability gaps
• The Pentagon says it must prepare resources for two simultaneous conflicts

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said European allies must take the lead in defending their own continent and help reshape NATO into what he called "a real hard-line military alliance". Speaking at a meeting of NATO defence ministers, he called for a reboot of the 32-member alliance into a "NATO 3.0" that can deter any threat.

His remarks came weeks after the United States told allies it would no longer provide certain warships and aircraft if one of them came under attack. As a result, European allies and Canada are working out how to cover those gaps while Washington says it needs to prepare for the possibility of two conflicts at the same time, including one with China in the Indo-Pacific.

Hegseth said, "NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that (NATO) needs to go back to a real hard-line military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defence of Europe." He also told reporters that the United States would invest USD 1.5 trillion in its own defence in 2027, sending "a message to the world" that America is building an "arsenal of freedom".

He said this arsenal "first and foremost protects America and American interests but also backstops the strength of NATO and our allies". Hegseth added that he would tell US allies they "have to be willing to stand up and do something in a strong way about" the defence of their own continent.

NATO's supreme allied commander, who is an American, is working on backup plans to defend Europe after the US signalled on June 3 that it would no longer provide an aircraft carrier and support ships, aerial refuelling planes and dozens of fighter jets, among other military assets, in a crisis. The Trump administration has said it needs enough military resources in hand to plan for two simultaneous conflicts.

Under Article 5, NATO's collective security guarantee, all 32 allies agree that an attack on one member will be treated as an attack on all. The clause does not require military support, though many allies would likely provide it. In effect, the United States is scaling back the help it might offer if an ally invokes Article 5, though it does not plan to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe, which remain central to NATO's deterrence.

In sum, Hegseth used the NATO meeting to press European allies to shoulder more responsibility for the continent's conventional defence, while saying the US would continue to strengthen its own military and support the alliance's overall deterrence.

With PTI Inputs

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