"It appeared that everything was in place to meet Germany's medium-range defense needs: until Germany acquired its own systems, the US was supposed to step in. The plan was to station US Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany. With a range of up to 2,500 kilometers (1553 miles), they could reach Russian territory if necessary. The rationale behind this plan was to deter Moscow from attacking Germany."
"By comparison, Germany's Taurus missile has a maximum range of only 500 kilometers. The deployment of the Tomahawks had been decided in 2024 by former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden. Deployment was scheduled to start this year and serve as a stopgap measure until comparable European weapons were developed. But that plan has now been scrapped."
"US President Donald Trump, who is not on good terms with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz since he criticized the war in Iran, pulled the plug on his predecessor's plan and also announced the withdrawal of at least 5,000 US troops from Germany. What this decision by the White House means for German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is that a gap has now opened in Germany's national defense."
"Not only had the US planned to station Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany, but also SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles and hypersonic weapons capable of traveling great distances at multiple times the speed of sound. With this arsenal of weapons, the US military would have been equipped to carry out the kind of long-range precision strikes that Germany is so far unable to conduct with its own systems. Their deployment was meant to counterbalance Russia's military arsenal."
Germany’s medium-range defense needs were expected to be met through US support until German systems became available. The plan called for stationing US Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany, with a range up to 2,500 kilometers, to deter Moscow from attacking. Germany’s Taurus missiles have a maximum range of 500 kilometers, making the US systems a key stopgap. Deployment had been decided for 2024 by Olaf Scholz and Joe Biden, with the goal of bridging the period until comparable European weapons were developed. The plan was later scrapped by Donald Trump, alongside an announced withdrawal of at least 5,000 US troops from Germany. The change leaves Germany without planned US capabilities, including SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles and hypersonic weapons, while Russia fields Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad and Oreshnik missiles in Belarus, both capable of nuclear warheads.
#germany-defense #us-missile-deployment #long-range-precision-strike #nato-russia-deterrence #hypersonic-and-cruise-missiles
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