Pentagon likely to cancel missile sale to Germany over fears of Russia

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The decision is part of a broader American retrenchment from the NATO alliance.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner fires a Tomahawk missile at sea on March 1, 2026 during the Iran war. | US Navy via Getty Images

The Pentagon is expected to cancel a plan to send Tomahawk missiles to Germany partly because officials are concerned Russia will view it as an escalation, a startling reversal of a long-planned agreement with one of America’s biggest allies.

U.S. officials fear Moscow will retaliate if the Trump administration follows through on the effort to deploy precision missiles in the middle of the continent, according to two European officials and one American official. But any decision not to deliver them would yank back a deal made during the Biden administration and leave Berlin without defenses German leaders say they desperately need.