Interesting take. But your use of missiles can actually be extended back tens of thousands of years. I think it has happened many times that the invention of s

Interesting take. But your use of missiles can actually be extended back tens of thousands of years. I think it has happened many times that the invention of some new missile weapon (or other defensive weapon) had people think that some kind of offensive form of combat became obsolete. Maybe the first time would be when thrown spears or stones made the big brute with a club obsolete. While in fact, up until now, this has gone back-and-forth numerous times. Disciplined infantry made chariots obsolete, until cataphracts and knights arrived. Longbows defeated knights for a moment, until they switched to plate armor. Pikes/crossbows defeated knights, until they dismounted and picked up a Pollaxe, or later, as cuirassiers used pistols to harass. Muskets and rifles defended well, until Napoleon used artillery, cavalry and manouver to give the attacker an advantage again. Automatic rifles and machine guns led to trench warfare, until the Brits invented tanks. Anti-tank guns defended pretty well vs tanks, until Guderian invented Blitzkrieg. Shaped charges threatened tanks, until reactive armor was invented. Actually, the general pattern that may be surprising to many, is that the key attribute for a weapon/platform to act offensively, is usually high survivability tactically, which allows them to advance, strategically. By comparison, platforms that have high firepower, but low survivability are often great defensively, as they allow counterattacks, but less useful when advancing. So my prediction, going forward, as that at some point (next month or in a 100 years, I don't know), the large platforms will be equipped with defenses that allow them to regain enough survivability to be used offensively.