Space warfare is combat in which one or more belligerents are situated in outer space. The scope of space warfare therefore includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth; space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites; and space-to-ground warfare, such as satellites attacking Earth-based targets. Space warfare in fiction is thus sub-genre and theme of science fiction, where it is portrayed with a range of realism and plausibility. In the real world, international treaties are in place that attempt to regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of space weapon systems, especially nuclear weapons.
A United States Air Force illustration of a hypothetical Soviet Armed Forces space weapon
A USAF F-15 Eagle launching an ASM-135 ASAT (anti-satellite) missile in 1985
Launch of an interceptor derived from Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme for ASAT test on March 27, 2019
A Trident missile launched from a Royal Navy Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine
The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.
MV Rubymar sinks in the Red Sea on 2 March 2024