Because of the vast scale involved, the presumed 'slipperiness' of an enemy ship maneuvering at high velocity in three-dimensional space, and other defensive measures the foe can take, direct-impact weapons are not a very practical consideration. The type of missile warhead most effective for space combat is still open to debate.

They can be 'dropped off' into space while the main vessel maneuvers away, so that when their engines are ignited they will not give away the position of the ship. Missiles also need not be launched directly from the main ship. Most beam weapons lose effectiveness and accuracy with range a missile's warhead can get in close to a ship and have a far greater potential for hitting and doing damage. Missiles have a definitive advantage over beam weapons, in that they can track and home in on an enemy vessel no matter how the other ship maneuvers. Essentially small spaceships in and of themselves, these advanced rockets would swarm across the void to attack an enemy ship en masse. The oldest space technology may well prove to be the most effective space weapons. But what kind of weapons can travel, much less hit and do damage to a target, from such immense ranges? Spacegoing warships will have to hunt for each other across vast expanses of nothingness and be forced to engage the enemy at distances of many thousands or even millions of kilometers. We've already established that war in space will encompass vast distances never before encountered by any military force. In this part, we'll take a look at the weapon systems that will be needed in this new theater of war.

In part one of this article, we examined the environment of space as a battlefield and the tactics a spaceborne warship will need to succeed there.

Dreams of space warfare