Originally posted by phoenix_cross
... the thing is, bullets aren't as effective in space. and missles, well i don't even know. there is too much that we don't know. lasers are a
good bet, but it's way too hard to spend THAT much money on big spaceships and people not ask, where in the hell did it go!?
Actually, kinetic kill weapons (bullets) are MORE effective in space. Without air resistance, they can travel millions of kilometers without a
reduction in velocity. Without wind, there is no drift. And in zero gee, there is no drop.
I always wondered about the AR-15/M-16 when Stoner designed it in the 1950's. It looks like a space gun.
Missiles are hella effective in space (see NASA's deep impact mission).
Lasers, hmmm, maybe better in the future. Especially bomb-pumped x-ray lasers.
We already scan space for 'stuff', so fire control is in place.
Could we hide a war like that? Maybe. Hide casualties as 'earth war' statistics, hide strikes as 'exploration missions' gone wrong.
But rest assured, bullets and bombs work BETTER in space, and better than lasers.
Some sci-fi guy wrote a book on just that, but title and author escape me...