History Main / Antiair

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', since the introduction of airplanes in the core rules of sixth edition anti-aircraft weapons have become much more common. Every army has at least a few options, except for the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranids]]. By standard, such weapons do not receive penalties for firing on aircraft but have a hard time hitting anything else.

** The Space Marines' new Codex introduces the Hunter, which fires a SuperPersistentMissile, and the Stalker, the BeamSpam version of the Hydra. They also have access to the [[HumongousMecha Contemptor Mortis Dreadnaught]] and Devastators with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' usually follows the principle of having units and defense structures dedicated to either anti-ground or anti-air. That said:
** This most frequently manifests as a Surface-to-Air Missile attack. Both sides in original ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Tiberian Dawn]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'' have some kind of SAM structure.
** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' Soviets love their Flak cannons.
** Allied AEGIS cruisers in ''Red Alert 2'' unleash a missile spam on air units, and only them. By comparison, GLA quad guns in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' are as efficient on aircrafts as on infantry. As do the [[UsefulNotes/ChineseWithChopperSupport Chinese]] [[GatlingGood Gat]][[MoreDakka ling]] tank, which can actually ''shred'' infantry divisions with only a handful of them. Lastly, the US Patriot Missile systems can destroy large groups of any vehicle extremely fast. Which includes both aircraft and tanks. In Zero Hour they get the Avenger which shoots down air units with lasers.

** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'', the trend is subverted with the Allies and the Imperials, since the Allies use the Multigunner system and the Imperials use the VX system; both let the commander choose what the turret's going to attack by putting infantry in and out of the turret or changing the configuration of the turret, respectively.
*** It's also subverted by most units in the game, since the two-weapon system allows some units a choice between anti-air and anti-ground, for example, the Chopper-VX, which is normally an anti-ground chopper but can be switched to an anti-air walker at will. Similarly, the Sea-Wing/Sky-Wing is a submarine that can only fire on air units while in water, and can only fire on ground targets while flying.
*** This can lead to some interesting stalemates, where a Chopper-VX in walker form encounters an enemy anti-air unit, as the only way for it to attack a ground unit is in chopper form, but changing to chopper form will let the enemy unit return fire.

** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianTwilight'' nearly completely subverts the trope - because there's an entire Crawler class dedicated to air, most units now have the capability to strike air - the only exception, Cannon units.

* In near-future military thriller ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', various American states begin to secede as the economy tanks and the federal government lapses into totalitarian tyranny. Initially, they face very uneven odds; the protagonists in the New England breakaway state are particularly light on air defenses, with the Feds dominating the air. It becomes a plot point when a lucky soldier with a MANPAD manages to shoot down an overconfident Navy F-35 that went in too low and slow.

** Fighters are air craft that can only attack other aircraft. Being ''even more'' mobile than other aircraft, Fighters utterly tear apart everything else in the air other than enemy Fighters and Stealth Fighters.
** Aircraft Carriers in ''Dual Strike'' and ''Days of Ruin'' can only attack air units, though they work very differently in each game. In former, Carriers are absurdly long-range indirects that can attack aircraft from up to eight spaces away, basically making more effective (but much more expensive) missiles. In the latter, they are direct units with a weak attack; their primary defense is to [[MookMaker create]] and supply Sea Planes.
** Stealth Fighters and Piperunners are notably the only units that deal significant damage to aircraft even though they ''aren't'' specialized for anti-air.

** Cruisers are primarily for attacking Subs, thus protecting other ships, but their secondary weapon works similar to an Anti-Air against flyers, except more vulnerable to a first strike from B-Copters (damage to be even, but Cruisers are much more expensive).

* An enemy staple in ''VideoGame/AceCombat'', coming in several varieties such as machine guns, [=SAMs=], and the occasional flak cannon or laser. AA guns are a very mild inconvenience at worse provided the plane isn't on its last legs, [=SAMs=] can spell doom on high difficulties. Some games make them actually dangerous by giving them perfect accuracy if the player flies too high or not under clouds, making them invisible to radar (but not invincible; keen-eyed players can still destroy them by aiming at the source of the bullet trail or the contrails) or making them reachable only from a certain angle. [=SAMs=] are also portrayed realistically, which means they have a notable weakness if you know how SAM systems work. [[spoiler: A SAM only engages above a certain altitude. If you running low enough, diving down to the deck will cause the SAM to lose its lock immediately and miss you completely.]]
* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' Anti-Air units (creatively called Anti-Airs) are essentially [[MoreDakka rapid-fire heavy machine guns]] on tracks. Not only are they devastating against air units, but against infantry and light vehicles as well. Against tanks, however, they are rubbish (unless significantly weakened beforehand, making them decent in cleaning up tanks at low HP) and they cannot even attack ships. The Missile Launcher, meanwhile, is anti-air artillery capable of attacking aircraft up to five squares away. Being a SAM launcher [[CripplingOverspecialization it cannot attack non-aircraft at all]]. ''Days of Ruin'' increases their range to up to six squares away. Fighters also qualify somewhat, as they can only attack other air units - and they utterly tear apart everything other than enemy fighters and Stealth Planes.
** Aircraft Carriers in ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' and ''Days of Ruin'' can only attack air units. In Dual Strike, they are absurdly powerful indirects that can attack aircraft from up to eight spaces away but in Days of Ruin, they are direct units with a weak attack.

* In ''VideoGame/SaveThelight'', some attacks such as Pearl's Spear Throw and Peridot's Metal Powers (where she hurls her tablet at her foes) are capable of hitting flying enemies.

%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Section Maintenance thread: %%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=3qo8m6jm

* ''TopGunMaverick'' uses this as the justification for the AirStrikeImpossible mission flown by two pairs of Hornets needling a thread through a canyon at high speed before climbing tightly over a mountaintop in order to approach a target located at the bottom of a deep crater without flying high enough to get tagged by the ''numerous'' Surface to Air Missile sites located in the area. Exiting the canyon requires the pilots to fly up into the defenders' engagement envelope, resulting in the four Hornets having to [[HighSpeedMissileDodge frantically evade]] a MacrossMissileMassacre as the air defenses open up.

* An enemy staple in ''VideoGame/AceCombat'', coming in several varieties such as machine guns, [=SAMs=], and the occasional flak cannon or laser. AA guns are a very mild inconvenience at worse provided the plane isn't on its last legs, [=SAMs=] can spell doom on high difficulties. Some games make them actually dangerous by giving them perfect accuracy if the player flies too high or not under clouds, making them invisible to radar (but not invincible; keen-eyed players can still destroy them by aiming at the source of the bullet trail or the contrails) or making them reachable only from a certain angle.

* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' Anti-Air units (creatively called Anti-Airs) are essentially [[MoreDakka rapid-fire heavy machine guns]] on tracks. Not only are they devastating against air units, but against infantry and light vehicles as well. Against tanks, however, they are rubbish (unless significantly weakened beforehand, making them decent in cleaning up tanks at low HP) and they cannot even attack ships. The Missile Launcher, meanwhile, is anti-air artillery capable of attacking aircraft up to five squares away. Being a SAM launcher [[CripplingOverspecialization it cannot attack non-aircraft at all]]. ''Days of Ruin'' increases their range to up to six squares away.

** In the sequel, the Kernapult can instantly kill Seagull Zombies if they lob butter at it. The Blover returns and can instantly kill Seagull Zombies, [[JetPack Jetpack and Disco Jetpack Zombies]], Dodo Rider Zombies (when airborne), and Bug Zombies. The Hurrikale functions similarly to the Blover except it affects Zombies on the lane it was planted on.

* In the ''Literature/{{Ryanverse}}'' novel ''The Cardinal of the Kremlin'', one of the characters is an Afghan who excels in using the FIM-92 Stinger missile launcher to shoot down Russian helicopters. He also averts the CripplingOverspecialization at the end by [[spoiler:using the heat-seeking warhead to lock on to and destroy Russian guard towers with electric heaters in them.]]

* [[CuteWitch Witches]] in ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' can both jump three times AND dash through the air, and since no other class can do this, witches can be a real pain to fight (at least until they got nerfed). The only real effective class against witches are melee [[MightyGlacier Exor]][[ChurchMilitant cists]]. As they swing their [[AnAxeToGrind axe]] or [[SinisterScythe scythe]], the [[{{BFS}} weapon is so big]], that when swung upwards for an uppercut, they can easily knock out midair witches (unless they are at the very peak of their jump, or used [[InASingleBound leap]], etc.), much to their fear. As a side note, melee Exorcists won't flinch in the middle of the majority of their attacks, so Exorcists are as hard to approach as Witches are hard to chase.

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Anti-aircraft guns were placed around the [[HomeBase Photon Atomic Power Research Institute]] to shoot down flying [[{{Robeast}} Mechanical Beasts]] that tried to invade the base or blow it up. They weren't too effective, though.

* "Fanfic/LastRights": A Klingon fighter is shot down by Vaadwaur infantry with a shoulder-fired missile.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, the concept of an Air Force is in its infancy. Two air-capable Powers, Ankh-Morpork and Klatch, have the most evolved air arms and are watching each other closely to see what happens next. Ankh-Morpork's Air Watch has been into all-out combat once and has evolved tactic both for air-to-air fighting and for ground attack. The most that has been thrown back at them -- so far -- consists of random fireballs from ground-based magic users. But the [[AcePilot commanding officer]] is aware that this resulted in one pilot being killed and another limping back to base with damage. After an exercise involving mock attacks on Ankh-Morpork's navy in its home port of Pearl Dock, she is aware that there is a very definite need for ''capable'' ground defences capable of causing damage to air attackers. She is rather keen to be on the side that has them - and that the people operating them can tell friend from foe. Olga is also keen to know what form anti-air defence is likely to take so that she can start evolving counter-strategies.

* ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' shows the [=USS=] ''John C. Stennis'' aircraft carrier attempting to defend herself from a missile attack using a [[GatlingGood Phalanx CIWS]] turret, though it doesn't turn out very well.
** It should be noted that in RealLife, the carrier would have been protected by the numerous [[UsefulNotes/SuperiorFirepowerSurfaceToAirMissiles AEGIS]] cruisers and destroyers surrounding it. Given that they were in range of a Russian bomber regiment, not having a CAP is also rather foolish.
* The Death Star Turrets in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope''.
** Which didn't work, since the Turbolaser batteries were intended for capital (Star-Destroyer caliber) starships, not one-man fighters. Plan B? TIE Fighter squadrons.
** And then in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', Hoth base has an anti-''orbital'' ion cannon, which proves readily capable of disabling a Star Destroyer in a single volley.

* A major drive in ''Film/CharlieWilsonsWar'' is the need to find a weapon the Afghans can use to shoot down Soviet Hind gunships, which are armoured against anything up to .50 calibre. The venerable Oerlikon 20mm cannon is mentioned as a possibility but dismissed because the Soviets will just switch to flying higher-altitude missions, above its effective ceiling. The key turns out to be the Stinger AA missile, though the [=CIA=] weapons expert also points out that a lot of other hardware is needed to make the Afghan fighters effective - including advanced communications gear so "they won't be so fucking easy to find".

* Comes into play at two points in ''Film/ThirteenDays''.
** First when the Navy begins making low-altitude photo recon passes over Cuba. Because they were trying to avert a war, rather than admit the Russians shot at them, the planes come back riddled with "[[InsistentTerminology birdstrikes]]."
** The second instance is when [[spoiler:Major Anderson is shot down]].
* ''Film/{{Congo}}'': the expedition is [[BorderCrossing attempting to fly over a closed border]] only for army units to start firing at them with shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles. After using {{Flare Gun}}s to divert some, they skydive out of the plane before a missile locks on to them.

* ''Film/ThePeacemaker'' has the protagonists violate Russian airspace while chasing stolen nuclear weapons. The local Russian air defense forces do ''not'' take it lightly, and destroy one of the helicopters.

* In the aviation novels of Creator/DerekRobinson, his [=WW1=] pilots are equally dismissive of ground flak. Until one pilot flies right into a shell that turns his plane into a cloud of small fragments.

* The ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series is an alternate-history version of the Napoleonic Wars that gives the various players aerial corps populated with intelligent talking dragons trained for combat and aerial defense, which happens to be the ''only'' role dragons can have in Europe. However, the smaller dragons can still go down to cannonballs like anything else, and pepper guns, which literally [[PepperSneeze shoot ground peppercorns at dragons to irritate their eyes and airways]], are common on warships and are an essential part of any anti-dragon compliment. One advocate for dragon rights fights so fiercely for dragons to work outside the military or without riders because she has seen the advancement of technology in firearms and the invention of pepper guns. She posits that there will come a day when a weapon will come about that can kill even the biggest dragons, crew and all, BreathWeapon or no, in a single strike mid-flight, and then where will that leave dragons?
* ''In Honour Bound'' by Gerald Seymour involves a British SAS man going into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan to shoot down a Hind gunship so its secrets can be photographed and brought back for British intelligence. Given that he's using an obsolete Redeye missile launcher (for PlausibleDeniability) with only eight missiles, and is up against the [[TheDreaded most feared helicopter gunship of the day]], this is not easy.

* The "Theater Air Defense" unit in ''[[TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} GURPS: Mass Combat]]'' has a strength of 50000 at TL7 which makes it the most powerful unit in the game, capable of neutralizing the massively powerful Flying Battleship ''and'' and entire airforce at the same time.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' features a few weapons with the explicit "Flak" special ability -- a -2 to-hit bonus against airborne targets. The classic example are LB-X autocannons firing their special "shotgun" cluster rounds, although in recent years the Clans' hyper-assault Gauss rifles have joined the fray and dedicated flak ammunition for standard autocannons has been retconned into having always existed as well. In addition, engaging specifically ''fighters'' from the ground calls for rather different traits in a weapon than attacking ground targets; damage inflicted is nearly irrelevant under tournament rules because ''any'' hit in an atmosphere already forces the aircraft to make a control roll with the consequences of failure being a sudden loss of altitude and possible crash, while range is paramount because altitude does rapidly add to effective engagement range, rendering many shorter-ranged stock weapons largely or even completely ineffective. As a result, it's generally acknowledged that exactly the low-caliber autocannons that are frequently belittled in ground combat for their abysmal damage-to-weight ratio are among the best weapons to have on hand when the aerojocks come calling. The game also has the "Anti-Aircraft Targeting" quirk, which grants a bonus to attacks against airborne enemies. The Rifleman, Jaegermech, and Partisan Air-Defense Tank are all purpose-built for anti-aircraft work and have both the quirk and medium-sized autocannons for swatting down anything that tries flying over the battlefield.

* [[CuteWitch Witches]] in ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' can both jump three times AND dash through the air, and since no other class can do this, witches can be a real pain to fight (at least until they got nerfed). The only real effective class against witches are melee [[MightyGlacier Exor]][[ChurchMilitant cists]]. As they swing their [[AnAxeToGrind axe]] or [[SinisterScythe scythe]], the [[{{BFS}} weapon is so big]], that when swung upwards for an uppercut, they can easily knock out midair witches (unless they are at the very peak of their jump, or used [[InASingleBound leap]], etc.), much to their fear. As a side note, melee Exorcists won't flinch in the middle of the majority of their attacks, so Exorcists are as hard to approach as Witches are hard to chase.
* ''Videogame/DigitalCombatSimulator'' features [=SAM=] sites and Anti-Aircraft Artillery. Fortunately, thanks in part to ArtificialStupidity, the [=SAM=]s keep their targeting radars on all the time, allowing them to be taken out completely with anti-radiation missiles.
* ''Videogame/MechWarrior Living Legends'' has the Huitzilopitchli and Partisan anti-air tanks. [[MoreDakka They spew out hilarious amounts of ammunition at anything that flies]], and are [[InstantDeathRadius surprisingly effective]] against [[PoweredArmor battlearmor]]. The Rifleman [[HumongousMecha battlemech]] is an anti-air battlemech - it's overall less powerful than the tanks, but is faster and has a much more stable firing platform that can peak over hills. Some regular assets mounting the LB-X shotguns or a [[MagneticWeapons Heavy Gauss Rifle]] can deal crazy amounts of damage to dive-bombing aircraft, but most lack the necessary max pitch to be able to hit the high-altitude aircraft.
* ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' has a mission during the final level where the player is tasked with eliminating the BigBad's anti-air defenses which consist of automated missile turrets.
* ''VideoGame/MasterOfMagic'' has the "Web" spell in the Nature Magic category, which momentarily immobilizes pretty much any unit. When used against flying enemies, even once they chop their way free of the web strands and can move again, web remnants prevent them from flying again, and they are ground-bound for the rest of the combat.
* Standard to any TowerDefense is the Anti-Air tower, which rapidly destroys [[AirborneMook air units]] -- but ''[[CripplingOverspecialization only]]'' air units.
* Most [=RTSes=] with ground and air defense as separate buildings use the same principle: Anti-Air does more damage than a tower, and may have other effects such as splash damage, rapid fire. But AA units provide no defense against ground units.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' partially avoids the above. The Cactus, which can shoot down [[AirborneMook Balloon Zombies]], can still damage ground units as well. The Cattail can hit any zombie anywhere in the field, airborne or not. Only the Blover is highly specialized to deal with air units, and it still has the secondary effect of [[DefogOfWar temporarily removing mist]].
** But in a strange twist, the Blover's overspecialization actually cripples the CACTUS too. Balloon Zombies are so rare that it is usually not worth planting a Cactus in each lane to guarantee that you pop their balloons. Blovers are less cost-efficient, but you can plant Repeaters or something else with more firepower/other uses instead of the Cactus to use the ''spaces'' more efficiently instead. Not to mention that you need five Cacti to be sure that you don't let anything through which costs 125 sun more compared to just planting Peashooters there instead (for the same firepower but no anti-air capabilities). A Blover, on the other hand, costs 100 sun. So if you only see one wave of Balloon Zombies, the Blover becomes more cost-efficient too! Besides, sometimes you just can't afford the extra time it takes to kill one more zombie, so you're really happy that you can instantly kill them with a Blover instead of just grounding them.
** In the sequel, the Kernapult can instantly kill Seagull Zombies if they lob butter at it. The Blover returns and can instantly kill Seagull Zombies, [[JetPack Jetpack and Disco Jetpack Zombies]], Dodo Rider Zombies (when airborne), and Bug Zombies. The Hurrikale functions similarly to the Blover except it affects Zombies on the lane it was planted on.
* ''VideoGame/ProjectReality'' has anti-aircraft guns on many of the maps, and even has a class just for this role, toting a shoulder-launched SAM (Surface to Air Missile) such as the American-made FIM-92 Stinger or the Russian-made SA-7 Grail.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** The Covenant have the Anti-Air Wraith. However, it only fires the slow-moving fuel rod bolts, which generally are useless against player-piloted aircraft. As the wiki itself states, most player deaths caused by AA Wraiths are due to the pilot's stupidity.
** The Covenant also have the Mantis and the Tyrant, both stationary anti-air plasma cannons, with the Tyrant being the heavier of the two. They're a lot more effective at their job than the AA Wraith. The player is tasked with destroying a handful of them in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''.
** Reach also introduces the AA Shade turret, a variant of the common Shade that's been in the Covenant's arsenal since the first game, but varies in that the gunner seat is completely shielded and it fires plasma rounds that detonate after a certain distance. The only time they're encountered is when the player is on board a Falcon utility helicopter, the weapons of which can destroy the Shade from well outside the turret's maximum range.
** UNSC rocket/missile launchers can often lock onto enemy vehicles... including aircraft.
** ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' and ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' add the UNSC Wolverine and the Banished Reaver, both of which are primarily armed with anti-air rockets/missiles.
* ''[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokémon]]'':
** The move Gravity nullifies a Flying-type's immunity to Ground-type attacks, as well as the effects of Magnet Rise and Telekinesis.
** The Iron Ball item grounds the holder.
** The move Roost is a self-inflicted Anti Air move that nullifies the user's Flying-type for a turn in return for HP recovery. The move Ingrain makes the user susceptible to Ground moves, regardless if it is a Flying-type, has the Levitate ability, or has used Magnet Rise or Telekinesis.
** Stealth Rock does extra damage to Flying-type Pokémon, [[GameBreaker among other types]].
** Twister, [[{{Shoryuken}} Sky Uppercut]], Gust, and Thunder do double damage to a Pokémon that's taken to the air. In addition, a new move called Smack Down (bonus points for literally being called "Anti Air" in the French translation) involves throwing a rock at the opponent, which knocks flyers to the ground. It's funny having [[MoreDakka all your Pokemon use it at once in a 3-on-3 battle.]]
** Anti-air techniques are so strong in Pokémon that Flying-types are rarely seen in competitive play, although the ability Levitate is seen frequently as it's not subject to the same anti-air rules as the Flying type.
** Zygarde's SecretArt Thousand Arrows is a Ground-type move that hits airborne enemies and grounds them. To date, [[ScissorsCutsRock it's the only Ground-type attack that can damage Flying-types and Pokémon with Levitate without prior setup]].

* In ''VideoGame/GadgetTrial'', the Anti-Aircraft Artillery unit is the ''only'' surface (non-air) unit that can engage air units. It's usually a one-hit kill, but it's also slow, poorly armored, cannot fire after moving, and incapable of hitting anything else, and unlike in VideoGame/NintendoWars, air units can take advantage of terrain defense bonuses, so for air defense, the player is advised to stick to fighters.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'': Bows and wind magic are effective against winged enemies such as Pegasus and Wyvern units, and even [[{{Dracolich}} Draco Zombies]] in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]''.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', [[DragonRider Dracoknights]] instead of being weak to bows are weak to the far less common [[ShockAndAwe thunder magic]], making them (or at least [[OneManArmy Haar]]) largely a GameBreaker.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series
** Aero spells, which are quite effective against flying enemies.
** Wakka from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' specializes in striking airborne enemies with his basic physical attack. Other characters suffer a drop in accuracy against flying foes.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''; any large flying creatures can only be hit by using a projectile weapon, ie. bow, gun, or certain Techniks, like Telekinesis.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'', the Gravity spell grounds flying enemies so the player can attack them. Without it, flying enemies rarely suffer anything more than ScratchDamage from player attacks.
** Some enemies have a skill called "100 G", which removes the Float status from all characters. (FridgeLogic: Shouldn't they be, like, SquashedFlat?)

* ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft}}'': the Terran Marine, Zerg Hydralisk and the Protoss Dragon can all attack air units. The Terran Missile Turret and Zerg Spore Colony are exclusively anti-air structures, while the Protoss photon cannon can hit both air and ground units. The Terran Goliath is a specialised anti-air unit with a much weaker ground attack. The expansion ''Brood War'' gave each race a new flying anti-air only unit: Terrans get the Valkyrie, a ship with a [[MacrossMissileMassacre splash-damage attack]]; the Protoss got the Corsair, which relies on BeamSpam, and the Zerg got the Devourer, which uses a corrosive attack that slows attack and movement speed and reduces armor, which splashes and can be stacked.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' also gives each race a flying AA unit: the Terrans get Vikings, which can switch between being anti-air-only fliers or anti-ground-only ground units at will[[note]]with a delay for transformation time, [[CompetitiveBalance of course]][[/note]]. The Protoss get Phoenixes, which are essentially upgraded Corsairs with the ability to suspend ground units in the air temporarily, allowing other AA units to attack them. Finally, the Zerg get Corruptors, similar to Devourers except that their ability only increases the enemy's damage taken, is used separately rather than as an effect added to the basic attack, and doesn't splash or stack. The Thor also has a devastating ground-to-air missile barrage attack, designed almost exclusively to take out groups of mutalisks.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'':
** Basic range units like the Night Elves' archers, the Orcs' Troll {{Javelin Thrower}s, and the Humans' Dwarven Riflemen. They deal weak damage individually so a number of them are usually needed.
** Most defense tower buildings outside of the specialized cannon tower of the Humans.
** Humans have the Dragonhawk Rider's Aerial Shackles spell, which prevents the captured unit from moving ''or'' attacking while doing large amounts of damage all the while; their Steam Tanks can be upgraded to fire rockets at multiple flyers simultaneously, their [[FragileSpeedster Flying Machines]] can receive the ability to do splash damage to air units.
** Undead's Crypt Fiends can shoot webs that force flyers to the ground so ground units (including the Crypt Fiend) can attack them, and the Gargoyle has a melee claw strike that deals considerably more damage against other airborne units than the beam attack they use against ground ones.
** Orcs can use Raiders' nets to the same effect or use their Batriders' suicide attacks to deal large amounts of damage to multiple air units.
** Night Elves can have their Hippogryph Riders dismount, turning a ranged air unit into a separate strong melee flyer and a ranged ground attacker in no time at all. Their entire army being based on multiple ranged units, flyers tend not to last very long against a volley of arrows. The Hippogryphs also deal huge melee damage in the air just like Gargoyles.
** Heroes with range attacks. Some of their abilities/spells work too, such as the Mountain King's Storm Bolt (which stuns in addition to dealing huge damage).
** Also, the elemental orbs are buffed in the ''Frozen Throne'' ExpansionPack to allow melee {{Hero Unit}}s to attack air units without having to resort to special abilities and spells.
* Most ordinary combat units in ''VideoGame/ShatteredGalaxy'' will usually have attacks dedicated to anti-air or anti-ground. There exist "versatile" units and weapons that can attack both, but they are generally considered to be unfit for either role and therefore only good for beginners who have yet to learn the system.
* ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' has something in each role that can deal with targets in the air. Standard infantry squads carry a portable AA launcher, Support role has access to the best anti-air vehicles, and the Air role itself has helicopters with air-to-air missiles. True to the game's RockPaperScissors balance, the Ground role is the odd one out, with only one real AA-capable unit... and it'll still lose in a fair fight.

* ''VideoGame/ImpossibleCreatures'' has anti-air towers that unleash bolts of electricity on flying creatures. Given that flyers tend to have fairly low HitPoints and defense stats in the first place, they fall pretty quickly; however, these towers can't hurt land or water-based units.
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' has many abilities that disable flight. A bit too many. Did you know getting hit with a slab of rock will prevent you from flying 20 seconds after impact? These were mostly added to balance [=PvP=], but no one takes flight in [=PvP=] anyway because there are too many counters.
* The ''VideoGame/NavalOps'' games require you to mount anti-air weapons on your ships if you don't want to be blown to bits by swarms of enemy aircraft. [=SAMs=] can only target aircraft, but machine guns double as [[PointDefenseless point defense weapons]] for taking down missiles and torpedos.
* ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint'' appropriately features classic RealLife self-propelled AA artillery vehicles of its UsefulNotes/ColdWar era setting: The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZSU-23-4_Shilka ZSU-23-4 "Shilka"]] on the Soviet side and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M163_VADS M163 VADS "Vulcan"]] on the NATO side.
* ''Joint Task Force'' has the SA-11 Russian SAM launcher. It can devastate flying targets at extreme ranges, but nothing else. You also have to capture it since it is not a NATO unit. On your side, you have the German Gepard Flakpanzer, which uses its two 35mm autocannons to great effect against light vehicles, light armor, helicopters, CAS-planes, and, of course, Infantry. Tanks and other vehicles can use their mounted Heavy Machine Guns against helicopters for minimal damage, and Helicopters themselves can use their cannons against other helicopters.

* ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' gives Rico access to Panuan military hardware, including anti-air flak guns which are hilariously useful against just about anything that happens to cross in front of them--infantry, helicopters, destroyable targets, all are handily shredded by the quad-barrel monstrosity.

* ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'' had missile units that could hit everything. They did pitiful damage, but they were only units that could track air units, which in turn had very low health. They ended up being spammed against ground targets anyway. The expansion pack added dedicated flak units that could only target aircraft but destroyed them even more effectively.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsGalacticBattlegrounds'' has extremely fragile AA Troopers, less fragile AA Mobiles, decently durable AA turrets, and psychotically resilient Fortresses for all your AA needs. (Fortresses can shoot pretty much anything since they're also fitted with ground-based lasers.) The general rule of thumb is that if it shoots rockets, it kills flyers.
* ''VideoGame/HeavyWeapon'' has the Homing Missiles, which only target aerial enemies and actually do quite a good amount of damage to them. Best used against weak flying Mooks that come with more dangerous land troops (e.g. fighter jets along with tanks).
* All ranged units in ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' can attack aircraft, but the Alin's Eternal Flame structure constantly spits bolts of fire at aircraft, and the Alin's Heartseeker unit is especially effective against air units. The Vinci and Cuotl prefer to use their own fighters to counter other air units, especially the Cuotl's Storm Disk.
* ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' has two levels of ground-based mobile anti-air units. With the exception of the Cybran T1 anti-air gun, none of these units can target anything on the ground. On the other hand, all those guns on naval units aren't just for show; most ships have at least some kind of AA defenses in addition to their big guns: autoguns, flak cannons, [=SAMs=]/nanodart launchers, etc. Cruisers have ''[[MacrossMissileMassacre serious]]'' anti-air capabilities in addition to their surface-to-surface cruise missiles. And we haven't even got to the kind of AA firepower some [[SuperPrototype experimentals]] carry...
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Direct Hit and Reserve Shooter inflict [[CriticalHit mini critical hits]] on airborne targets depending on certain situations.
* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'': The Dragon Rend shout is probably the most evident example, being specifically designed to force dragons to land. However, other Shouts such as Storm Call and Marked for Death are also pretty effective against flying dragons as well: Storm Call will indiscriminately target any non-player entity within a given area, while Marked for Death will severely weaken the armour of anything it hits. Lightning-based Destruction spells are also good for the task too, due to the fact that they are insta-hit.
* The ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' games in the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series feature the Stinger Missile Launcher - it can't hurt other players, but it's very effective at shooting down airborne threats. You can make it even more effective by using perks that prevent airborne threats from shooting you.
* Every faction in ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' gets access to some form of anti-aircraft weaponry, but since the only aircraft in the game are in the form of doctrine-specific {{Support Power}}s they're employed more for their ability to [[MoreDakka shred infantry and light vehicles]].
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'': In the connected parts of Chris, Piers, Sherry, and Jake's campaign has the BSAA needing to take out anti-aircraft guns before they can call an airstrike on an Ogroman.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bioforge}}'': At one point, the protagonist must shoot down a dropship at close quarters using a large turret gun in the complex's tower.
* Carriers in the ''Videogame/{{X}}-Universe'' series are capable of mounting massed anti-fighter weapons, such as the Starburst Shockwave Cannon, Flak Artillery Array, or the [[WaveMotionGun Phased Shockwave Generator]], all of which slaughter any fighter dumb enough to get close with extremely fast, high-explosive splash damage bolts. Destroyers and frigates typically have to make do with flak coverage only on their topside and bottom.

* Archers and magic units in ''Videogame/GenjuuRyodan'' can two-shot most air units. It helps that most of them do not receive defensive bonuses from terrain.
* ''VideoGame/{{Nectaris}}'' has the Seeker AAG-4, a sort of light tank designed to be more effective against aircraft than against ground units, the Hawkeye M-107, a dedicated anti-aircraft artillery unit with formidable power and range, and the Falcon FX-1, a plane that can only attack other planes.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'':
** There's an enemy that's like this towards the player. The {{Cr|eepyCentipedes}}awltipedes that appear when fighting the Solar Pillar will ignore any grounded player, but if a player takes to the air, they will home in on said player ''very quickly'' and deal an incredible amount of constant CollisionDamage.
** The [[MeaningfulName Aerial Bane]] is specifically designed for this: It fires a spread of explosive arrows that deal increased damage to airborne enemies.

* ''VideoGames/ClashOfClans'' has the Air Defense and Air Sweeper towers along with the Air mines that are suited to deal with the flying units such as Balloons, Dragons, and Healers.
* ''VideoGame/WargameRedDragon'' and its predecessors have a variety of missile and gun AA on their ground units, ships, other aircraft, and even infantry. The weapons differentiate themselves by a number of factors, but mostly what kind of targeting system they use: Infrared, Radar, or Optical. They vary hugely in effectiveness, from the laughable Blowpipe missile to the terrifying Phoenix missile. Also notable in that AA guns rip infantry apart faster than anything but napalm, while AA missiles can't target ground units at all, but if a shot ''misses'' and hits the enemy below it, they explode. TruthInTelevision, too, as anybody who has seen a late-series Tunguska could tell you.
* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'': Aircraft are divided into two categories: helicopters and balloons, which can be shot down by infantry in addition to anti-air, and planes, which can only be taken down by other planes or anti-air. There's only one dedicated ground Anti Air unit, which is only really effective in large groups and is later upgraded to a mobile missile launcher. One of the most effective is the Partisan unit, which can shoot at anything short of space units (and due to the way the game works, they can shoot down ''satellites''), is available one era before planes as a CurbstompCushion, and can move through trees.
* In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'', the most reliable way to ground a flying monster is to throw a Flash Bomb in front of their face, sending them crashing back down to the ground due to losing control of their body, including their wings, and helplessly writhing for several seconds. However, a few monsters seem to have adapted to this trick: the Dreadking Rathalos in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterGenerations'' can get stunned but they ''won't'' fall out of the air, and a post-release patch for ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' makes Tempered monsters [[AcquiredPoisonImmunity resistant to Flash Pods after being affected enough times]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{FTL|FasterThanLight}}: Advanced Editon'', sometimes battles that take place in orbit around a planet will have a hazard known as Anti-Ship Batteries. These planet-side cannons will fire up at either your ship or the enemy's (but yours more frequently) and while a lot of the shots they fire will miss (since the cannons are on the ground hundreds or thousands of kilometers below you) when they ''do'' hit, they will ignore any shields on the target (even supershields) and inflict a lot of hull damage (if it hits yours, it's 10% of your hull meter).
* ''VideoGame/Transformers2004'' features the tiny purple [[EquippableAlly Minicon]] Airburst, whose special ability is turning into a flak cannon capable of [[OneHitKill one-shotting]] any common aerial enemy, such as the annoying [[GoddamnedBats Jet Snipers]], with ease.
* ''VideoGame/AncientEmpires'' has archers do additional damage towards wyverns (dragons in the sequel), the only flying unit. Combined with their ranged attack and much cheaper cost, they serve as an effective countermeasure to what is otherwise the most powerful unit in the game.
* ''VisualNovel/MuvLuv'': Laser-class BETA in ''[[VisualNovel/MuvLuvUnlimited Unlimited]]'' and ''[[VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative Alternative]]''. They have their limitations--as strictly line-of-sight weapons, they're foiled by terrain relatively easily, and they're helpless at close range--but they're tremendously destructive to aircraft or any [[AMechByAnyOtherName TSF]] that flies too high, making traditional air support methods suicidal. They're also noted to be extremely good at defending against artillery, with artillery units attempting counter-battery fire frequently running out of ammunition before making a dent in the Laser-classes' numbers.
* At one point in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', Samus needs to call in her gunship to destroy a particular target. It turns out that the target is protected by AA defenses, forcing her to find and disable them on foot.
* ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron'': Being a franchise of historical grand strategy games set in the era of World War 2, it naturally has various anti-air options just like in real life: There's anti-air artillery, tank variations, ship variations, and static anti-air defenses. There's also the fighter-type airplanes that specialize in attacking other aircraft. Some of the ministers that can be hired to your cabinet also provide additional bonuses to anti-air weapons.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}''
** The Grineer settlements on Mars are equipped with giant cannons aimed skywards that fire at something, probably some ships of the Corpus they are at war with.
** The Grineer Archgun Grattler's design is based off of real world anti-aircraft guns. This is further supported because associated files for the Grattler refer to it as "[=ArchGRNAAGUN=]", which can be seen as an abbreviation of "'''Arch'''wing '''Grin'''eer '''AA Gun'''".

* ''VideoGame/{{Infinitode}}'': Air towers are designed to kill Air and Jet enemies only. They excel at it with their overall high stats, though.
* One of the subweapons available in ''VideoGame/Centipede1998'' is a red rocket that launches into the air and homes in on airborne enemies.
* The KPA in ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' make use of AA turrets during the US invasion of the Lingshan Islands. Nomad has to destroy three of them before the bulk of US forces can land.

* In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'', the most reliable way to ground a flying monster is to throw a Flash Bomb in front of their face, sending them crashing back down to the ground due to losing control of their body, including their wings, and helplessly writhing for several seconds. However, a few monsters seem to have adapted to this trick: the Dreadking Rathalos in ''Monster Hunter Generations'' can get stunned but they ''won't'' fall out of the air, and a post-release patch for ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' makes Tempered monsters [[AcquiredPoisonImmunity resistant to Flash Pods after being affected enough times]].