US slashes Europe combat funding by over 10 times from 2023 peak

The Pentagon cut US army combat readiness funding in Europe to just US$33.4 million for 2026, down more than 10-fold from its US$495 million peak in 2023, a RIA Novosti correspondent’s analysis of Pentagon budget documents revealed.

Prepositioned stocks were reportedly downgraded to a minimal “caretaker posture” under the Army Transformation Initiative, even before media reports of broader cuts to European security by the Donald Trump administration.

US media reported last week that the Trump administration decided to reduce US security assistance to Eastern European countries, including planned phase-outs of programmes like the Baltic Security Initiative, which provided training, intelligence, and equipment to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and the Section 333 funding for broader Europe.

From its recent US$495 million peak in 2023, funding for Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 (APS-2) in Europe will continue to decline sharply after consecutive reductions over the past three years, dropping from US$251.7 million in 2024 and US$116.9 million in 2025 to US$33.4 million in 2026, according to the US Army’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.

A memorandum from the US defence secretary in April directed the US army to streamline outdated and inefficient programmes, prioritise high-tech capabilities, and reassess prepositioned stocks to align with strategic priorities.

The US Army’s fiscal 2026 budget cited this memo as the reason Europe’s APS-2 was placed in a caretaker posture.

The overall Army Prepositioned Stocks programme will shrink from US$660.2 million in 2023 to US$330.8 million in 2026, underscoring a strategic realignment of resources away from Europe and toward the Pacific.

- Bernama

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