[Mobhack]

"The power of an air force is terrific when there is nothing to oppose it.", Winston Churchill: The Gathering storm, 1948.

Your examples are scenarios where air power is employed en masse. probably with not too much of a defence on the ground side (e.g. lack of resupply).

Air power, like armour is best used in large concentrations. The usual stuff you see in most random campaign battles may involve 3 flights at most, so air is mostly an annoyance then.

If you are playing against the USA, or as the Germans in 44-45 in WW2 then you can find that the AI is taking 10 or a dozen flights. And that can take a severe toll of your toys. In that set of circumstances extra ADA assets are a worthwhile insurance policy.

In a scenario, you have the ADA assets the designer gave you. In long campaigns, ADA is often a waste of points - in fact a gift of points to the opponent since he will get that value to spend.

My favourite ADA unit tends to be the ZSU-23-4 or something similar. It can beat on enemy light troops if the planes don't come out to play unlike SAMS. SO I usually buy 2 sections of 2 of these for a Soviet battalion sized core. The UK OOB is lacking in these, so German allies is where I usually go for some 35mm with support points if I suspect a lot of air is coming.

SAMs can be useful, but have few arrows. If the enemy has lots of ECM then they can be dodged. Any SAM therefore that you buy should be self-mobile and have access to ammo trucks or better yet, armoured load carriers. I usually restrict myself to 1 SP-SAM section - OSAs usually.

MANPADS I find only useful in the 1968-80 period, when aircraft ECM is low. If they are distributed about the battlefield then it is a problem getting resupply to them, and if concentrated on a nice hill with a view of the battlefield then they will get noticed and draw arty. If a rifle company HQ comes with them then I usually leave those, or change it to an ATGM perhaps. If I do use them then its something like the UK LAAD sections with a dedicated Spartan to carry them from the hilltop off to a nearby ammo supply and back once any ary they drew has subsided.

A few radar equipped 57mm or 35/40mm flak pieces with APC to shift them about is a good investment though. Even a few visually aimed (i.e. cheap!) 23mm dotted about the rear zone can be helpful. Especially if you have rough patches of ground to deploy them in. I like to have a couple of sections of 57mm in the soviet core. They can overwatch an open flank and maybe brass up any scout cars or APC of an attempted flank attempt.

Some Radar-directed 57mm overwatching the battlefield are a nice way to deal with approaching attack or transport helos the AI moves towards you.

Oh yes - ADA should really have radar, at least any ones you have in the core. Shoulder carried MANPADS often do not have night vision, or very poor. So are blinded by night and smoke and battlefield dust.

I usually spend support points on ADA if I have the feeling its going to be a day the sky gets darkened by crows. So for a battalion sized force of 3 or 4 companies, I usually will have 2 SPAA sections and 1 SP SAM section in the core. I place resupply vehicles near them at battle start - if there is no need found for them, then those can move off to top up my mortars etc.