Pentagon Planning to Cut Troops In Europe, Shifts Focus on F35 Fighter Deployment

In a strategic move, Pentagon is planning to cut troops in Europe by slashing the number of personnel and vacating many bases and returning them to its NATO allies. Under the plan, named as the European Infrastructure Consolidation, by the U.S. Department of Defence, thousands of U.S. military and civilian personnel will be taken out of the U.S bases in Europe including those in the U.K. and Portugal. The changes are expected to accrue big savings of half a billion dollars, every year. The restructuring targets 15 European bases and will be carried out in another six years.

Those facing closure between 2018 and 2021 are the U.S facilities in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal. In the U.K, Royal Air Force Mildenhall is set to be closed, which has been home to more than 3,000 American service members. About 60,000 troops of the U.S. are already stationed in Britain, Germany and Italy. It is hoped that the proposed changes would mainly reflect on the Army and Air Force.

Boosting Air Power

At the same time, Pentagon will beef up its presence in a British airbase with the planned deployment of the F-35 fighter aircraft, reported ABC News. As part of the exercise, the U.S. has selected RAF Lakenheath in Britain as its first permanent European base for F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Accordingly, the first F-35 aircraft would arrive in the U.K. in 2020 to replace the F-15 fighter jets. The plan is to station two operational squadrons of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighters at RAF Lakenheath, which is about 70 miles northeast of London.

The presence of F 35--the Lockheed Martin Corp.-made aircraft "will give a teeth to the U.S. ability to support collective defence of Europe and its partners," noted Air Force Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of air forces in Europe and Africa. The U.S. will also build more F-35 maintenance facilities in Italy and Turkey, Pentagon announced.

Joint Strike Fighter

According to Fox News, the F 35 Joint Strike Fighter is Pentagon's most expensive acquisition programme, costing about $400 billion for 2,443 aircraft. The cost of keeping those planes flying in the next 50 years will be another $1 trillion in terms of sustainment. Already eight countries have committed to the development of F-35, which include the U.K., Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. Countries like Israel, Japan and South Korea have evinced interest to buy production models of the aircraft.

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