Europeans to fill almost all gaps left by US in NATO defence plans

NATO is set to announce at next week's Ankara summit that its European members have filled almost all the gaps left by the United States in the alliance's

defence plans, a NATO source told Reuters on Wednesday.



The main gap NATO is still struggling to plug is in strategic bombers, where the U.S. has said it will make only one aircraft available instead of two, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The U.S. told its allies in May that it had decided to shrink the pool of military capabilities committed to the transatlantic alliance in a crisis, raising urgent questions as leaders prepare for a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 to 8.



The move is meant to gradually end an "unhealthy co-dependence" on U.S. forces as Washington faces the potential of simultaneous conflicts in multiple theatres, according to NATO's top commander, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich.