Is the suggested missile reserve based on the Royal Navy's historical stock of spare gun barrels?
Short answerIt is based on VLS capacity, but the barrel comparison illustrates the much deeper and geographically dispersed reserves needed by a fleet operating worldwide.
NotesThe suggested missile reserve is based on available VLS cells, although historical barrel stocks offer a useful comparison. Destroyers are described as carrying replacement barrels, with further sets at docks and others being transported or reconditioned. The approximate total is five barrels for each one in use, illustrated by about forty barrels supporting an eight-gun Tribal-class destroyer. Larger cruiser and capital-ship barrels would generally be stored nearby rather than carried aboard. A destroyer redirected between the Mediterranean, a North Atlantic convoy, and the Indian Ocean needs supplies available wherever it finishes. The same reasoning supports distributing missile stocks among forward locations instead of expecting a supply ship to follow every reassignment.