Jmm85

Missiles are slow in comparison to rail guns, hence small non explosive payload vs high explosive, with guidence. To dodge something means seeing it, calculating trajectory, and using that information. We don't have the tech at reasonable distance to do that with something hyper sonic workout a lot of distance. The realitive small size of the projectile from a rail gun complicates this. Also dodging missiles rare outside movies, that's why fighters use radar jamming, stealth, flares, chaff to confuse their guidence.

I saw a couple of posts about evasive maneuvers almost dogfighting in space. I just want to ask if anyone had read up on real air to air combat as exsists today? Most endangerment are from across horizon, well beyond visual range wroth long range missiles. Space ranges would increase drastically making combat less about pilot skill and more a senor arms race. If talking lasers dogding impossible, flat out no way to detect before hit. Rail guns near impossible, to point decaying is almost silly. Rockets at long range can be dodged if detected early though if have that detection capability would be easier to destroy and not waste fuel. Eratic hetic dogfights are nonsense at ranges likely if combat moved up, its almost extinct now.

I would guess, the most likey powerful without inventing any new tech would be either laser arrays, or rods of good concept tungsten kneck energy bombs. Armed, updated x-33 drone would be interesting, have it go into rest mode basically as a satellite wake it up with massively higher speed, have to look at how large a piece of tungsten would need to be to survive re-entry but something along lines of space based punt gun with hyper velocity could wreak serious havoc.

While i agree that it is not a realistic senario, realistically there is no response possible. The context of what are discussing matters though. Most hypotheticals can be broken by looking at only through practicality.

I think a lot of comments missed the point of the original question. He placed a very specific if unrealistic senario, with intent to get info on what the most out there space battle weapons and tactics could be employed without having to come up with any new fundamental technologies. Yes, given need to and worldwide support we could in short period launch some bigger items. Cost is what limits payload most at this point of world comes together with a real goal could overcome that, to a large extent. US military budget already dwarfs NASA's. The space shuttle is scrape now, the airforce takes deliveries directly into airfcraft grave yards. Also it started they set up an invasion head quartets on the moon, this implies they want the world intact. No information on if inhabitants are an issuse or consern. Just pointing out this out because senario implies that global destruction was never goal. To address the topic. If a hostile mom base was constructed, best feasible course of action would be loads up every launch vehicle capable of high earth orbit with biggest h bomb they could carry and launch in waves towards moon. Hope some get thru.