Well, I just lost another fleet of 9 destroyers to this "undefended" outpost, and I'm done messing around with combat until I hear a reasonable explanation for why the combat system is so absurd. Destroyers and cruisers are useless units if they can't take an undefended outpost.

Also, the fact that damage to an outpost or colony does not appear to be cumulative after multiple attacks seems lame to me. The fact that you lose your entire attack force every time you don't bring enough to win is just silly. If the game is going to be set up that way, it should just tell you flat out before you attack that you won't win, so you don"t waste endless numbers of ships because you're one damage short.