US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in the United Kingdom after a crack was discovered in the cockpit windshield during his return flight from the NATO Defense Ministers’ meeting, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the landing was conducted “in accordance with standard procedures” and that Secretary Hegseth and all passengers were safe. “On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defense Ministers’ meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield. The plane landed based on standard procedures, and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,” Parnell said in a post on X.
The incident took place shortly after Hegseth attended a high-level NATO meeting in Brussels, where he issued a stern warning to Moscow over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. He cautioned that continued Russian aggression would prompt “costs” from the United States and its NATO allies, according to a report by CNN.
At the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Hegseth underscored the alliance’s commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s military readiness. “Firepower — that’s what is coming,” he said, referring to the purchase of US-made weapons by European nations, though it remains unclear whether the package will include Tomahawk missiles.
According to CNN, Hegseth also pressed NATO members to ramp up their contributions under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative. “Turn words into action in the form of PURL investments. All countries around this table — no free riders,” Hegseth urged.
