Tom had originally thought that after entering a truly "modern" interstellar battlefield, weapons like cannons and missiles would have lost their effectiveness.
Take cannons, for example. In the era of gunpowder weapons, they indeed played an irreplaceable role.
Their power was immense, their range was sufficient, and their status was indispensable.
Missiles, needless to say, had their own propulsion, could fly much farther, and could automatically lock onto targets.
But in the era of interstellar warfare, they had an insurmountable flaw: they were too big and too slow.
The larger the target and the slower its speed, the easier it was to intercept.
New high-speed radar interception systems could even intercept tiny electromagnetic cannon projectiles, let alone shells that were tens of centimeters and interstellar missiles that were several or even tens of meters long.
