America and its NATO allies 'remain on a collision course' after bombshell leaked text messages revealed that Donald Trump's top security officials branded Europe as 'pathetic' and 'free-loading', military experts have warned.

Team Trump has come under fire today after it emerged that secret exchanges on the messaging app Signal were mistakenly sent to the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

The chat, which appears to have served as a virtual war room for some of the top White House players, saw Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confess that they 'hate bailing Europe out'.

Military experts have now warned that Washington is 'frustrated' at Europe for 'not taking more ownership of security issues' and urge NATO allies to evaluate their defence spending.

'It is essential that Europe recognise that Team Trump overall believes NATO is over-relying on the US to protect what the Trump White House chiefly believes are European national security interests,' Mark Toth and Jon Sweet told MailOnline today. 

'The substantial US budgetary outlays that Team Trump is determined to redirect back to meet the domestic needs of the US economy. Europe, in that vein, would be wise to hit Trump's initial 5 per cent GDP target for NATO member-state defense spending in as short of a timeframe as possible.'

European Parliament member Wouter Beke echoed the warning, claiming that 'for too long' the European Union has been 'at ease under the safety umbrella by the US'. 

'A strong and resilient EU with more investments in defence is necessary,' he said, adding that it would 'strengthen the EU pillar within NATO and subsequently also the US in the long term'.

The leaked text messages have revealed that there is a 'growing and disconcerting narrative' amongst White House officials that 'Europe is not doing its fair share'.

'Intentionally leaked by Team Trump or not – and we think not – the US and its European NATO allies remain on a collision course,' Toth and Sweet said of the texts, which they referred to as the 'Signal fiasco'. 

'Team Trump is increasingly becoming frustrated with Europe not taking more ownership of security issues – especially those that primarily or disproportionately affect London and Brussels.'

The military experts warned that Europe will have to take these messages into account going forward and encouraged them to follow Poland's lead of defence spending.

'Poland, presently, stands out as a model state to Team Trump. Europe would be well-advised to collectively emulate their approach,' they said.

However, Beke, who sits on the EP's Foreign Affairs & Security and Defence committees, says that despite the 'difficulties with the new administration, we still believe in a strong EU-US and therefore also EU-NATO relationship'.