Space Warfare - How would the ships be built/designed?

[NuclearNut]

Why do we need space warships? Why not simply bombard the enemy planet with cheap missiles made of tungsten, depleted uranium, or kitty litter? If you can go between solar systems and you want planets, why not remove the enemy from them with relativistic guns, salted bombs, or other such fun things? Is there a reason to send spaceships in the first place? I think not, if you send a large missile it is cheaper and more efficient than a space warship thing and be easy to do.

[meve12]

Why do we need space warships? Why not simply bombard the enemy planet with cheap missiles made of tungsten, depleted uranium, or kitty litter? If you can go between solar systems and you want planets, why not remove the enemy from them with relativistic guns, salted bombs, or other such fun things? Is there a reason to send spaceships in the first place? I think not, if you send a large missile it is cheaper and more efficient than a space warship thing and be easy to do.

The problem with that is that thwarting such an attack is also fairly easy to do-use a powerful laser to cause laser-ablation, modifying the projectile's trajectory from a hit to a miss.

Since all this defense costs is energy, and energy is cheap in space, long range kinetic strikes would be too much cost (in mass, and in labor in manufacturing the projectiles) for their effect.

You don't need warships to bombard a planet-you need them to prevent the defenders from intercepting your barrage. And, of course, warships to intercept enemy ships trying to do the same.

[Kibble]

If you can go between solar systems and you want planets

We're - um, well - I'm not talking about interstellar fighting! Although you bring up a good point - whether or not the goal is planetary conquest. If it is, I imagine gaining dominance of the enemy planet's sphere of influence (killing enemy spy satellites and other probes, with adequate observation and coverage by your own spacecraft) would be for the ultimate goal so that you can send capsules full of nuclear bombs or something on orbit and threaten them into surrendering. That way you can land your dignitaries or soldiers or whoever with the threat of instant retaliation if the enemy tries to kill them.

Hopefully the entire interplanetary rumble could end up with nobody dead!

[Heimdall5008]

And we get into the usual battlefield-intel conundrums the human race has already experienced in past wars. What if the Veenies built a starbase somewhere besides Venus orbit five years ago, when we weren't looking?

So, after the Venutians have built a military space station way off the planet (on whatever stable orbit they could achieve), you would not observe this one really close?

Regarding the argument "Burn behind planet": I assumed (a few pages back) a colonized solar system with dozens of colonies/settlements on/around different bodies. So realisticly you can not get a shadow on all positions.

Why do we need space warships? Why not simply bombard the enemy planet with cheap missiles made of tungsten, depleted uranium, or kitty litter? If you can go between solar systems and you want planets, why not remove the enemy from them with relativistic guns, salted bombs, or other such fun things? Is there a reason to send spaceships in the first place? I think not, if you send a large missile it is cheaper and more efficient than a space warship thing and be easy to do.

This may be a strategy to moons or asteroids. But not for habitable planets. They are way too valuable to simple be destroyed.

[SomeGuy12]

We're - um, well - I'm not talking about interstellar fighting!

Interstellar fighting is impossible, right? Assuming post Singularity, within about a century from now, technology is within a few percent as good as it will ever get. (things are limited by physics). If that is the case, then the defenders of a star system get to have all the rocks of that star system to make into defensive warships. The attackers have to use an ultra-high isp, extremely low thrust engine to travel interstellar distances (while the defenders get to use high acceleration fusion or antimatter boosted engines that are far less fuel efficient). The attackers have to emit a flare as their drive produces petawatts of gamma rays so they are seen coming the entire time.

[GeneralVeers]

So, after the Venutians have built a military space station way off the planet (on whatever stable orbit they could achieve), you would not observe this one really close?

That's why I phrased the question the way I did: "What if the Veenies built a starbase somewhere besides Venus orbit five years ago, when we weren't looking?"

When you're at peace with somebody (or think you are because you don't know they're planning war against you!) you're less likely to have scouts out there watching what the other side is doing. In fact you're likely to not have scouts, because that could be seen as a provocation. Once war does break out, any general worth his stars will ask "what do they have out there that we missed?"

Most factions planning or fighting a war will try to establish assets where the enemy doesn't know about them.

This may be a strategy to moons or asteroids. But not for habitable planets. They are way too valuable to simple be destroyed.

"Scorched earth" has been in the Terran military handbooks for thousands of years. If it's valuable to the enemy and you have little to no hope of ever conquering it, that is indeed a good reason to fly a Death Star over to it and blow it up.

Interstellar fighting is impossible, right? Assuming post Singularity, within about a century from now, technology is within a few percent as good as it will ever get. (things are limited by physics). If that is the case, then the defenders of a star system get to have all the rocks of that star system to make into defensive warships. The attackers have to use an ultra-high isp, extremely low thrust engine to travel interstellar distances (while the defenders get to use high acceleration fusion or antimatter boosted engines that are far less fuel efficient). The attackers have to emit a flare as their drive produces petawatts of gamma rays so they are seen coming the entire time.

Uhhhh.....you said "high-ISP, extremely low thrust" in there. That means a weaker "flare". Something which we humans have already learned to mask with modern stealth fighters; reducing the infrared signature from the engines is already part of U.S. stealth aircraft design.