@shadowhawk …“transports unless you got a spare slot and they other side is using aircraft when they attack you.”
I don’t think this is correct. An AAA on a transport is just cargo. They do not fight in sea battles–unless you are using a house rule.
@SuperbattleshipYamato “Where is its place in combat?”
During combat, AAA allow the defender to get a free round of attack against air units. The rules vary depending upon the variant of Axis and Allies; but for G40, each AAA can fire upto 3 times. However, each shot is at a different target, i.e., 3 aircraft. If less than 3 aircraft attack, the AAA only fires as many shots as attackers. If more than 3 aircraft attack, you’ll need more AAA to defend…
If the AAA hits (roll of 1), the aircraft is immediately removed from attack – before it gets to attack, much like a subs first strike capability.
After that first round, they do nothing except absorb a hit. So as @shadowhawk says, typically they die first so others can shoot back. The exception would be when an attack is a raid or just damaging attack and probably not going to annihilate the defenders. Then, the defender might want to keep the AAA in case the next country to attack would also have air units that you want the AAA to shoot at.
When would you buy more?
Very rarely have I found the need. The one time I did, was when my opponent was using a dark skies strategy (buying lots of planes). A few extra AAA on the battlefield made attacking my multiple small stacks problematic for his air force.
