This whole thing about "stealth will be impossible, because everyone will have dispersed observation platforms," seems very handwavy to me. If detection is so easy across vast distances, then ultimately observation platforms shouldn't be able to survive unless they have stealth. Otherwise, no matter how cheap you can make your observation platform, you can make something else that will destroy it for much less.
I imagine space warfare to be a complex "cold war" of vast distances, with robot missile and detection ships tightly beaming waste heat and information in carefully chosen directions. There will be complex games of deception and counter-deception. It will be a matter of tricking the enemy into critical errors about what you know and don't know about the disposition of their forces.
The situation where everybody is using torchships, and everybody knows where everybody is at all times is similar to the Surface to Air Missile dominated era of aerial warfare of the 70's. There will be tremendous incentives to someone to develop workable stealth of some form.
A destroyed observation platform is just as useful for defense as a working one :) I'll replace my cheap observation platforms after I've disposed of the threat that just gave itself away.
It will be a losing battle if the resource that destroyed your platform is cheaper than your platform. And while your're "disposing of the threat that just gave it self away," you're actually falling into my trap, for I've only sent that drone to get you to maneuver and give your other forces away, so my other disposable stealth drones can spin-up to high-energy missile mode and blow them up as well.
See, you can't just handwave stealth in space away. If you think you can, you just haven't thought it through quite enough.
I see what you're getting at, but I wouldn't call that "using stealth". Surely the demolition of one observation platform isn't going to raise an eyebrow. If I'm defending a solar system I have tens of thousands of observation platforms that get taken out by asteroids and comets from time to time.
Trying to create a diversion isn't really effective at the scale of a solar system (or greater). While I might send a small fleet at your drones, you still have to get at me from somewhere, and that probably involves destroying more drones. But why bother? Getting to my base at the center of the solar system is going to take you more than a few minutes, I'm going to figure out where you're really coming from.
It makes more sense to use drones for reconnaissance, and then just go at your opponent with a bigger fleet.
I see what you're getting at, but I wouldn't call that "using stealth". Surely the demolition of one observation platform isn't going to raise an eyebrow.
You're forgetting that holes in your observation cloud open windows through which my drones can beam waste heat. Of course I wouldn't be trying to destroy just one drone. The point is not so much to divert, as to cause you to reveal your resources and to give mine more opportunities to use stealth.
Also, the scenario here is not the invasion of a solar system. I thought it was the control of a particular resource like an asteroid. But if you want to play "invasion of the solar system" then I'm game.
It makes more sense to use drones for reconnaissance, and then just go at your opponent with a bigger fleet.
Only up to a certain point. If you create a tremendous concentration of resources and industrial output such as an awesome battleship, you might have something that can beat any individual craft in a 1 on 1 battle, but you've also created an opportunity to hurt your side a lot with only a very small expenditure on my part. This is especially true with stealth.
I imagine space warfare to be a complex "cold war" of vast distances, with robot missile and detection ships tightly beaming waste heat and information in carefully chosen directions. There will be complex games of deception and counter-deception. It will be a matter of tricking the enemy into critical errors about what you know and don't know about the disposition of their forces.
The situation where everybody is using torchships, and everybody knows where everybody is at all times is similar to the Surface to Air Missile dominated era of aerial warfare of the 70's. There will be tremendous incentives to someone to develop workable stealth of some form.