Anti-Air in Broken Arrow: How to Stop Getting Bombed
A beginner's air-defense guide for Broken Arrow: why every deck needs anti-air, how SPAAG and SAM layers work together, and how to position AA so it survives and shoots down planes and helicopters.
Why you cannot skip anti-air
Aircraft and attack helicopters are among the deadliest tools in the game, and a deck with no anti-air simply loses to them. This is the single most common reason new players get farmed: they build a strong ground army, an opponent brings jets, and there's nothing to answer.
Because you can't add cards mid-match, AA is a decision you make at deck-building time. Always reserve budget for it — think of it as mandatory, not optional.
Two layers: guns and missiles
Short-range gun AA (SPAAG — think Shilka/Tunguska-style vehicles) puts up a wall of fire against low, close targets: helicopters and aircraft on an attack run. It's cheap, mobile and great near your front line.
Long-range missile AA (SAM systems) reaches high and far, forcing enemy aircraft to fly cautiously or die. It's more expensive and needs protection. A good deck brings both: guns to swat what gets close, missiles to deny the sky.
Positioning AA so it survives
Keep AA behind your front line, not on it — a SAM parked at the very edge gets spotted and killed by artillery or a direct-fire unit. Position it where it covers your army but sits out of enemy line-of-sight and shell range.
Spread your AA rather than clumping it: one lucky cluster-munition or artillery strike shouldn't wipe your whole air defense. Overlapping two positions also means a plane diving on one is exposed to the other.
Micromanaging air defense
AA that fires constantly reveals itself. Against a careful opponent, consider holding fire until a real target commits, then unleashing — an ambush downs the plane before it can react. Move AA after it shoots, since the enemy now knows roughly where it is.
Watch what threatens you: a low, fast attack jet is a job for gun AA, while high-altitude bombers and standoff missiles are a job for long-range SAMs. Match the layer to the threat.
Anti-air is not just AA units
Your own fighters contest the sky too — an air-superiority jet can shoot down enemy aircraft before they reach your ground forces. And recon matters: seeing a plane on approach lets your AA react in time. Look up any AA unit's exact range and stats in our unit database, and read the aircraft guide to understand what you're defending against.