Starship Defenses
Starship defensive system also tend to follow standard configurations. The most common defensive resource is armor plating, which absorbs the destructive energy from all types of attacks. Starships also use energy shields to absorb and block enemy attacks. Starship systems normally include countermeasures, such as blockers and stealth devices, to confuse the tracking system found aboard proton torpedoes and concussion/ion missiles. Most small fighters rely on their often-incredible maneuverability to evade attacks.
Planetary Weapons
Planets are especially strategic resources/trade routes in space combat since they offer quantities of raw materials, high-tech weapons-manufacturing facilities, and staging points for use by entire fleets. As a result, possession and control of worlds, particularly those in key locations, may be essential for victory in space warfare.
Many fleets use orbital bombardments and mobile MAC sites to destroy cities and their defending armies before landing armies that will occupy such worlds. Aside from the usual array of projectile and fighter raids, fleets have been known to employ nuclear devices, mass drivers, and asteroids to destroy a planet's entire infrastructure.
To prevent this kind of wholesale destruction, many worlds have employed sophisticated defensive networks complete with projectile/MAC and ion cannons used to attack orbiting ships. Planetary shields can block projectile and energy beams and can even incinerate vessels that collide with the shields. Sensor stations, mines, defensive fleets, and space stations with dozens of plasma turrets emplacements also can be used to protect a planet.
Thus, planetary weapons and defensive system reflect the vastness of modern warfare and represent the cutting edge of military technology as it is employed by all space-faring civilizations.
