The Pentagon is holding up a potential deal for Tomahawk missiles for Germany — Politico
According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the U.S. side has not yet provided a final response. At the same time, the Pentagon reportedly fears that the transfer of such weapons could be perceived by Russia as an escalation.
According to two European and one American official, Washington believes that Moscow could view the deployment of precision-guided missiles in central Europe as a step toward escalation and retaliate. At the same time, rejecting the deal effectively means breaking the agreements reached under President Biden and leaves Berlin without weapons that German leaders consider critically important.
The depletion of American arsenals also plays a role: in the first weeks of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, Washington expended thousands of Tomahawk missiles and Patriot missiles. Defense Secretary Pete Hegset acknowledged in Congress that it would take “months and years” to replenish stocks.
“The Americans themselves do not have enough of them right now,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated last month.
The decision regarding the Tomahawks is just one element of a large-scale review of the U.S. presence in Europe. This week, at the quarterly conference of NATO military leaders in Washington, the U.S. announced the scaling back of one of its key roles in the Alliance—reducing fighter jets, drones, and naval units in Europe. Earlier, the Pentagon canceled the deployment of 5,000 troops to Germany—a decision that stunned European officials and even Republican “hawks” in Congress.
“The point is to provide allies with the information and clarity necessary to move forward as quickly and effectively as possible,” explained a U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson. According to him, the goal is for allies to “assume primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin submitted an official request to purchase “Tomahawks” a year and a half ago and has yet to receive a response.
“To be honest, given the current state of the world, I don’t have high hopes,” Pistorius admitted, according to Politico.
Donald Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff suggested that Ukraine seek a 10-year exemption from U.S. tariffs instead of receiving Tomahawk long-range missiles.
American companies are ready to sell Ukraine Tomahawk long-range missiles, but the final decision rests solely with U.S. President Donald Trump.
