Air Defense



"This anti-air tower is deadly against flying enemies, but can't target foes on the ground. Place it wisely to cover as much airspace as possible."


 * Summary
 * The Air Defense is a powerful Defensive Building with a very high damage-per-second, capable of defending against flying units.
 * Air Defenses can only target and shoot one air troop at a time.
 * It cannot harm ground-based units, or interfere with them in any way other than potentially distracting them from attacking a more valuable target (e.g. the Town Hall).
 * The Air Defense is unlocked at Town Hall Level 4.


 * Defensive Strategy
 * The Air Defense has an excellent range and a very high damage per shot. As the in-game description states, it's best to position them so that they cover as much area as possible. One common strategy for Town Hall 7 and above is to position them in a wide triangle (or diamond, once the fourth Air Defense is available) around the Town Hall.
 * Lava Hounds target this building first, so make sure you defend it well with other defenses which target air troops. Single-Target Inferno Towers are most effective if you have them. If not, other point defenses such as Archer Towers and Hidden Teslas or 2 Seeking Air Mines are recommended.
 * The Air Defense is a popular first target for armies sporting ground troops, as they are one of only 2 defensive structures that cannot target them (the other being the Air Sweeper). Make sure they are defended well, and they will help to keep the skies clear from rampaging Balloons, Dragons, Healers, Lava Hounds and Minions. Air Defenses are there for when Archer Towers and Wizard Towers just won't cut it, or are distracted by ground units such as Giants and Heroes.
 * If possible, keep your Air Defenses behind your first lines of defense (e.g. Cannons and Archer Towers), preferably with a Wall in between. This will prevent a large Giant or Golem assault from quickly destroying the Air Defense and allowing a Healer to be deployed early in the battle. The longer it takes the Giants to destroy the Air Defense, the more time your turrets will have to thin out their ranks before a Healer can be safely deployed.
 * Offensive Strategy
 * The Air Defense is a natural target to attack first, as clearing them helps pave the way for an air assault. Healers are very vulnerable to the Air Defense, destroying this defence with Giants before deploying her is recommended. They are easily destroyed by any ground-based troop, as they cannot fight back.
 * It is advisable to keep Balloons away from Air Defenses, as they are capable of destroying most Balloons in one or two hits from a great distance.
 * Although Air Defenses are quite effective against Dragons, it is possible to keep an Air Defense occupied with a one or two Dragons for a fleet of Balloons to quickly destroy a majority of the ground defenses.
 * A great way to overwhelm the Air Defense is using a large group of Minions since the Air Defense can only target one air unit at a time.
 * A good strategy placement for this defense is by placing it near a Wizard Tower (which would be near a Mortar and a storage, for maximum protection).


 * Upgrade Differences
 * Air Defenses undergo significant visual changes at levels 2 through 8.
 * When initially constructed, the Air Defense consists of a single wooden launch tube with a single red-and-black rocket. The launch tube is banded with metal.
 * At levels 2 and 3, an additional launch tube with a rocket inside is added.
 * At level 4, the three wooden launch tubes merge into one and gain an additional rocket. The launch base is reinforced with metal.
 * At levels 5 and 6, another launch tube and rocket are added.
 * At level 7, the three launch tubes are replaced with a single large wooden launcher with four large black and yellow rockets in it.
 * At level 8, the Air Defense's launcher receives a coat of red paint, along with dark metal bands and golden rivets. It is filled with four large, black-tipped rockets that are painted in a yellow and black chessboard pattern, similar to that seen on the V-2 Rocket.


 * Trivia
 * The rockets in the launcher look like fireworks. When they explode, you can see a small show of lights if you zoom in close enough.
 * The visual representation of rockets in the Air Defense's launchers does not represent the amount of ammunition the Air Defense contains. The Air Defense has unlimited ammunition and will continue to fire as long as the enemy has any surviving Air Troops in range.
 * Even though after the 12/10/16 update, Air Defenses under upgrade have their rocket heads removed and look unarmed, they still don't need re-arming.
 * In most English-speaking countries outside the United States, the Air Defense is called the Air Defence.
 * Oddly, even though at level 1 where it is mostly made of wood, the Air Defense possesses 800 hitpoints, which outnumbers that of the far sturdier-looking level 9 Archer Tower, with 750 hitpoints, and almost equal to the level 10 Archer Tower with 810 hitpoints, which looks just as sturdy as its precursor.
 * It is one of the 2 defensive buildings which target only air troops, the other being the Air Sweeper.
 * The second Air Defense was added for Town Hall 6, and the third for Town Hall 7, on the January 26th 8.116.2 update.
 * The Air Defense had a significant visual change for most levels in the 21/3 Bowler Update.
 * In the October 12th 8.551.2 "Friendly Wars" update, what appears to be a level 9 Air Defense was added to the game files but was not yet made available in the game (pictured at right).



For additional statistics and information, see the Unit Calculators page.