Does the Physics engine updating without Rigidbodies?

Does the Physics engine update and check all the non-static colliders/triggers in a scene even if there are no rigidbodies used in the scene?

Reason:

I’m not understanding how to make a realistic space sim with rigidbodies, so I am creating it my self. I have colliders on my non-static gameObjects, but I checked IsTrigger and use raycasting to detect distance. aka missiles do not actually collide with the enemies, but explode at a minimum distance. Also, when the player mouse clicks, I raycast to see if they clicked on a trigger.

I’ve recently learned that non-static colliders must be rigidbody kinematic to allow them to move, but I do not want to use rigidbodies bc of the complexity and unexpected reactions of phsyics. Thanks

Bump…after two years