August 31, 2026: Germany, like most other major military powers, watched with great interest as Ukraine invented modern drone warfare in order to defeat Russian invaders. Ukraine quickly turned to NATO nations for assistance and received it. So far, 57 percent of the military aid Ukraine has received has come from European nations, with the rest from America. This has turned Europe into a major drone designer and manufacturer. One such German firm, Helsing, is currently producing HF-1 and HX-2 drones. The latter weighs 12 kg. Over 10,000 of these drones have already been delivered to Ukraine, and more are on the way. Helsing is also developing a larger jet-powered drone for reconnaissance, surveillance, or attack by launching smaller drones at distant targets.

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for Germany. The German military, known as the Bundeswehr, was upgraded and expanded. Within two years, Germany had, for the first time, reached the NATO goal of two percent of GDP spent on defense. That’s more than $75 billion. This pays for an army brigade to be created and stationed in Lithuania, which borders Russia. The Bundeswehr is buying the Israeli Arrow air defense system to shoot down any Russian missiles aimed at Germany. Another air defense system deals with drones and aircraft.

At sea, the naval branch of the Bundeswehr sent a frigate to help deal with the situation in the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels in Yemen were trying to halt shipping moving north to the Suez Canal or an Israeli port in southern Sinai. For the first time since World War II, a German warship opened fire on an armed enemy. This was part of a multinational effort to suppress the Houthi threat. All that firepower worked, as the Houthis declared a ceasefire because they had run out of missiles, men, and militancy.

Unfortunately, the Bundeswehr has come up short on manpower. While the German government supports and pays for rearmament, many military-age German men are reluctant to commit. The Bundeswehr is short a quarter of the personnel it needs to operate all these weapons. One problem is that the Bundeswehr is supposed to have 203,000 active troops but can attract only 184,000, plus 35,000 reservists. This may change if Russian forces advance on Germany rather than just threaten to. The last time the Russians invaded in 1945, the Germans fought to the end.

These problems come at a time when the United States has withdrawn its security pledge to support European NATO nations in defending Europe. This contrasts sharply with the situation before 2022. The United States has had military bases overseas since World War II ended in 1945. These included over 300 installations dispersed throughout 49 countries in Europe and Japan. There were 225 in Germany, but between 1994 and 2014 most were shut down or transferred to the German Bundeswehr. This gradually changed, especially during the 1948-1991 Cold War. After 1991, American military facilities expanded overseas beyond Western Europe, and by 2024 there were some 800 bases in seventy countries.

By 2009, the dwindling U.S. forces in Europe were turning into museums, literally. Since World War II, American military units have casually preserved many historical artifacts. After spending over half a century in Europe, the U.S. Army force went from two corps and over six divisions with 18 combat brigades there during the Cold War, to the current four brigades. During the Cold War, over 300,000 U.S. troops were in Western Europe. That gradually shrank to about 40,000, and by 2025 there were 84,000 U.S. military personnel in Europe.

Worldwide, by 2021, the United States had 642 bases in 76 foreign nations and 159 in overseas American territories. American military personnel were in 170 nations worldwide. Some of these are military attachés at embassies. There are now 100,000 troops in Germany, Italy and Britain, with another 56,000 in Japan, 24,000 in South Korea, about a thousand in the nine Philippine bases and 15,000 in the Middle East. The U.S. has 123 bases in Germany, 113 in Japan, and 79 in South Korea. These include the modest Al Udeid airbase in Qatar and the massive Aviano military base complex in Italy, which hosts 49 American bases.

By service, the Army operates 220 bases in 29 overseas locations. The U.S. Marine Corps maintains 31 bases, the U.S. Navy 97 and the Air Force has 170 in nine foreign regions including Japan with 52,852 personnel, the Philippines with about a thousand, Germany 34,894, South Korea 23,732, Italy 12,319, Papua New Guinea a hundred or so, Britain 10,180, Bahrain 3,424, Spain 3,253, Poland a few dozen, Turkey 1,683, Kuwait a few hundred, Belgium 1,119, Australia about a hundred and Cuba 572. The Bundeswehr also has many temporary sites for special operations.