War lessons for a Europe abandoned by the US: Without air superiority, tanks are useless

"The U.S. Secretary of Defense what U.S. President Donald Trump prefers to call the Secretary of War has announced to European countries that they will have to assume the bulk of NATO's conventional defense capabilities on their soil starting in 2027. Washington's new National Security Strategy, published on December 5, aims to reestablish strategic stability with Russia. It has sent shockwaves through a Europe long accustomed to relying on U.S. military support."

"The reality, according to military experts on both sides, is that neither Europe without U.S. support nor Russia are prepared to prevail in a hypothetical conflict today. This new sense of isolation is forcing Europe to draw lessons from the most significant conflict to take place on its soil since World War II. The main conclusion is that air superiority is key to keeping the enemy at bay. Without air power, tanks are left vulnerable to waves of drones."

"Since Putin launched the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the nature of the war has changed radically. Tanks are increasingly absent from the front lines. Videos of multi-ton turrets exploding have been replaced on social media by drones striking motorcycles and bicycles. The expensive Russian T-14 Armata was never deployed to the front. Western Leopard and M1 Abrams tanks arrived late and in limited numbers to a war that today bears little resemblance to what it was in 2022 and 2023."

U.S. Defense leadership informed European states they must host the bulk of NATO's conventional forces on their soil beginning in 2027, aligned with a U.S. National Security Strategy aimed at reestablishing strategic stability with Russia. European reliance on U.S. military support has been disrupted, creating a sense of isolation. Military experts assess that neither Europe without U.S. backing nor Russia could win a hypothetical conventional conflict today. The war in Ukraine has transformed warfare: air superiority now determines battlefield outcomes, drones inflict disproportionate damage on armored units, and expensive main battle tanks prove vulnerable and scarce at the front.

Read at english.elpais.com