"Europe Surpasses Russia in Number of Tanks and Fighter Jets"
As U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be stepping back from security commitments in Ukraine and Europe, prompting calls for 'self-reliance' within Europe, an expert analysis has emerged stating that Europe is not inferior to Russia in terms of conventional military power.
On the 13th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing military strategists, evaluated that while a conflict with Russia would be deadly and highly destructive, increasing the risk of nuclear war, Russia would struggle against Europe in conventional warfare.
Philip Breedlove, former commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said, "The Russian military under Vladimir Putin that we have seen is not overwhelmingly superior," adding, "They struggled significantly in the Ukraine conflict."
He further noted that the Russian military suffered serious damage during the 2014 Crimea occupation and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and assessed, "I believe European militaries can respond well to any issues with Russia."
Europe is evaluated to have a high dependence on the United States for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and command and control, and also lacks sufficient air defense capabilities. However, analyses suggest that European countries maintain militaries with considerable defensive capabilities through continuous training.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the United Kingdom, NATO's European forces possess approximately 5,000 tanks and more than 2,800 self-propelled artillery pieces. Additionally, they have about 2,000 combat aircraft and are expected to have over 500 state-of-the-art F-35 fighters by 2030.
In contrast, Russia is known to have up to 3,000 tanks and half the amount of self-propelled artillery compared to Europe. The number of fighters, bombers, and ground-attack aircraft is about 1,000, and IISS estimates that roughly 20% of the combat aircraft deployed in actual combat have been lost.
However, the problem is that European countries have also seen a decrease in their weapons stockpiles due to supporting war-torn Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed out earlier this year at the European Parliament, "Our defense industry is still too small and fragmented, and frankly, production is too slow."
On the 6th, the European Union (EU) unanimously adopted a declaration at a special summit held in Brussels, Belgium, calling for strengthening European defense capabilities and reducing 'strategic dependencies.'
Amid concerns that the U.S. collective defense commitment might falter, experts emphasize that Europe must prepare its own combat plans tailored to its troop levels. They particularly noted that NATO's basic strategy of using European forces to halt attacks until U.S. troops arrive in emergencies such as a Russian invasion could serve as a reference.
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