Sending small handfuls of air is what I brought up before with sending 5 asf to deal with air to ground. That quote was also in the context of sending all your air to kill 1 strat bomber or 5 torps and therefore creating your own lose condition due to taking a bad turn.
This is also why it’s common for an air player to gift a handful of asf to other players so they can respond to more inconsequential raids.