Overview
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the U.S. reduction in Romania is a routine adjustment and pledged the alliance can scale up collectively where needed.
- Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Rutte discussed bringing additional allied troops to Romania and across the eastern flank.
- NATO’s new Eastern Sentry program will deploy more warplanes and air defenses to frontline countries to counter growing airspace and hybrid threats.
- The Pentagon is ending a 101st Airborne rotation, with roughly 700 brigade troops returning to Kentucky and about 1,000 U.S. personnel remaining in Romania, including at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.
- Allies are expanding exercises in Romania from roughly 1,500 to over 5,000 troops, and Rutte said ammunition output across NATO has reached its highest level in decades as drone incursions hit Poland, Romania, Denmark, Norway and Germany.