{"id":72931,"date":"2026-05-05T11:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/05\/german-defense-minister-laments-long-range-strike-gap-caused-by-planned-us-drawdown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:50:24","slug":"german-defense-minister-laments-long-range-strike-gap-caused-by-planned-us-drawdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/05\/05\/german-defense-minister-laments-long-range-strike-gap-caused-by-planned-us-drawdown\/","title":{"rendered":"German defense minister laments long-range strike \u2018gap\u2019 caused by planned US drawdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VIENNA \u2014 Germany\u2019s ambitions to close a long-range strike capability gap are facing a fresh setback after the Trump administration moved to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from German soil and effectively shelved a Biden-era plan to temporarily deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 missiles there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking Monday in Munster, Germany, after a major Bundeswehr combined-arms exercise, said the reported decision meant Germany would be left with a capability gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat was an agreement between Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the time \u2212 as a temporary bridge, until we as Europeans had developed our own systems,\u201d Pistorius told reporters, referring to the former U.S. and German leaders \u201cThat this may now not happen in the way we had assumed tears this capability gap open again. We have to look at how we can compensate for that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are ideas, but no solution yet,\u201d said the defense minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Biden administration announced in July 2024 that it would temporarily station a Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany equipped with the Typhon ground-launched system, which can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 interceptors, in what officials described as a bridging measure ahead of European alternatives coming online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That plan is now in doubt following fresh reports that the Trump administration intends to withdraw approximately 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, with President Donald Trump suggesting the actual figure could be significantly higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4500\" height=\"3000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-120768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg 4500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2273962286.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4500px) 100vw, 4500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sits on a GTK Boxer vehicle during a demonstration of capabilities by the German army on May 4, 2026, near Munster, Germany. (Morris MacMatzen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the government\u2019s regular press conference on Monday in Berlin, Defense Ministry state secretary Kornelius M\u00fcller laid out Berlin\u2019s three-pronged response to fielding a long-range missile capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first thrust involves modernizing existing Taurus cruise missile stocks and accelerating development of the Taurus Neo successor, a program approved by the Bundestag\u2019s budget committee in late 2025. The second pillar \u2212 the purchase of market-available systems, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2025\/07\/28\/lockheed-vows-quick-action-on-german-typhon-missile-launcher-request\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\">formal Letter of Request<\/a> for Typhon launchers submitted to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last July \u2212 remains officially \u201cin process,\u201d though M\u00fcller declined to say whether Washington had responded to the ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The third pillar is the European Long-Range Strike Approach, or ELSA, a joint program involving six European nations \u2212 France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Berlin and London are also separately co-developing deep-strike capabilities beyond the 2,000 kilometer range under the bilateral Trinity House framework, and Pistorius indicated that France intends to join that effort as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The timeline, however, remains uncertain. When pressed on whether ELSA-derived capabilities would be ready before 2030, M\u00fcller declined to commit to any date. \u201cI cannot say anything about a timeline,\u201d he told reporters, citing dependence on industrial availability and technology development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Munster, Pistorius pointed to the ongoing European effort. \u201cWe began in 2023, together with the British, and now the French want to join, to develop the precision-strike systems ourselves as Europeans \u2212 as fast as possible,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, we need an instrument \u2212 with U.S. help or via other paths \u2212 to close the capability gap in that bridging period as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The admission underscores how dependent Germany\u2019s defense planning remains on American cooperation at a moment when that bond is increasingly uncertain. It also suggests that both of Berlin\u2019s planning scenarios for obtaining Typhon launchers \u2013 by way of a U.S. Army formation stationed in Germany, or through a Bundeswehr purchase for use by national forces \u2013 are now deemed dead ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">M\u00fcller sought to downplay the operational implications, insisting that NATO\u2019s defense plans account for capability contributions across allied nations and that no gap would emerge at the alliance level. \u201cIt is not Germany\u2019s deep-precision-strike capabilities alone on which the deterrence and defense capability of Europe hangs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pistorius has previously warned, including as far back as 2023, that European NATO members would need to adapt to a reduced U.S. footprint on the continent as Washington pivots toward the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated to correct a description of European-based, long-range strike efforts in which Germany partakes.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both of Berlin\u2019s planning scenarios for getting Typhon launchers \u2013 through a U.S. Army formation, or a purchase for the Bundeswehr &#8211; are not panning 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