US scraps Tomahawk deal with Germany, fearing Russia and missile shortage

The United States is expected to scrap a plan to deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, a reversal driven by fear of Russian retaliation and a weapons stockpile drained by the US-Israeli aggression on Iran.

Two European officials and one American official say Washington fears Moscow will retaliate if precision missiles are positioned in the heart of the continent, Politico reported on Thursday.

The likely cancellation is one piece of a broader US pullback from NATO. The Pentagon this spring also canceled the deployment of 5,000 troops to Germany.

The move stunned European officials and Republican defense hawks alike. Additional reductions in fighter jets, drones and naval units were announced this week at a quarterly NATO military conference.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s top commander, told alliance leaders the direction is intentional. America, he said, will “refocus” equipment and forces elsewhere, and Europe “can step up now and in the near term.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last month he no longer expected Washington to deliver the missiles.

“The Americans don’t have enough for themselves right now,” Merz told German public television.

The US burned through thousands of Tomahawk and Patriot missiles in the opening weeks of the terrorist war on Iran, which began on February 28 and came to a halt on April 8.

War secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress last month that it will take “months and years” to replace them — a candid admission that the unprovoked war of aggression has depleted American arsenals.

This was also echoed by an analysis published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in late May, which noted that replenishing inventories would take "months and years . . . depending on the weapon system."

According to the report, Tomahawk cruise missiles, THAAD interceptors, and Patriot air defense missiles will require at least three years to return to pre-war levels under current production and delivery schedules.

CSIS estimated that more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles were deployed during the aggression, with inventories not expected to recover until "late 2030-early 2031". The Navy’s FY 2027 budget requests 785 Tomahawks, but deliveries are projected to begin only in March 2030 after a 34-month production lead time.

The report estimated that 190-290 THAAD interceptors and 1,060-1,430 Patriot missiles were also deployed. Deliveries tied to new procurement requests are expected to begin in 2029, with inventories recovering later that year.

US missile stockpiles may take years to recover after Iran war: Analysis

A new analysis shows that the United States may need years to rebuild key missile inventories depleted during the 40-day campaign of aggression against Iran.

Meanwhile, the US troop reduction decision in Germany, which reduces levels to what they were before the Ukraine war, came after Merz said President Donald Trump had “humiliated” himself with the Iran war.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who formally requested the missiles a year and a half ago, has yet to receive a response.

“We are still awaiting a response,” he said. “But to be honest, given the current state of the world, I don’t have much hope in that regard.”

A Pentagon official defended the shift, saying the goal is “allies taking primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense.”

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