Porcupines are still prey despite their quills.
Sure, NATO needs more than just meeting its 2% defense goal to defeat Russia. But I reject this:
The role of technology in the Ukraine war must be integrated, from the use of drones and Starlink satellite internet for communications to dazzlingly shortened timeframes to field new types of weapons. All this should be incorporated in a “porcupine defense” that would raise the costs of any Russian attack on NATO to make it unacceptable.
Oh, not the tech integration. There's no cheap silver bullet for victory. But sure, tech integration helps.
I do believe that the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows we have no idea how much an enemy will sacrifice to get its objective. I certainly had no idea.
The problem is that if the enemy decides it will pay the price, the porcupine is in no condition to push the lion--or bear--out.
Clever ways to win on the cheap will fail. Let's focus on building up NATO militaries that can fight the Russians until we defeat and drive back their military in battle to win any war Russia starts.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.