Is there a “stockpile” of these things, though? As in ready to go in the sort of numbers that would make a significant difference to the war?
Both sorts of missiles are heavily used already, and the ones we are talking about have a relatively limited range (at least in terms of the size of Russia). One has to assume that those targets that can be assessed as at risk are already identified by the Russians and measures taken to protect or move them, given the extensive telegraphing of this decision.
Our governments are risking a ridiculous amount and probably in order to make a token gesture, if this is what it is. Personally I very much hope this is decoy chat because it is moronic otherwise.
If we’re going to make decisions like this, then as I have said since this war started government needs to make preparations for the potential outcomes and there has to be a significant effect for what they want to do. There has to be clear evidence that we - NATO - are prepared to be capable of responding to them. I am not sure that we ever have shown anything like that, at any point in the crisis. How much has our defence budget increased again? How many more troops, tanks and aircraft do we have? How larger are our defence stockpiles and industrial base?
