The Typhoon is the most reliable and easiest mobile air defense available to confederation players and a very good choice to have against avia using opponents.
Very high damage against avia units
Capable of withstanding multiple attacks from a fighter jet
Comparably cheap to produce
Good for base defense against avia as it needs no energy to function
Completely defenseless against ground units
Needs to use Siege Mode to not have its range reduced and fire rate halved
The Typhoon is first unlocked at Headquarters level 2 and very useful to defend against enemy avia. In general there are 2 ways to to use use it, one active and one passive way.
Using it actively means to move it along your army, because that's the only way you should ever let it leave your base due to it being completely defenseless against ground units. Given enough time even anti-infantry units like Riflemen are able to take it out if left unprotected. That's why it should always be kept in the back of your army, together with other special vehicles like Torrent and Energy Shield.
When engaging into battle it is recommended to put them into Siege Mode to increase their range, double their fire rate and space them out so they aren't directly adjacent to each other. The best way to do this precisely is to use the "Take Positions" tactical button as it causes them to automatically enter Siege Mode when reaching their destination.
Using it passively means to use them as a replacement for Air Defenses as they are significantly cheaper to build, while also not needing any energy to function. Typhoons are also much more difficult to target when your Base is hidden by the fog of war, as only buildings can be attacked without having them in direct line of sight of units.
In turn, Typhoon has a slightly lower attack power and noticeably less durability than Air Defenses, while also requiring CP. So it might be a good idea to mix both types of anti-air.
If your enemy starts to use bombers against your base, then it is recommended to change the position of your typhoons frequently, to avoid getting them destroyed, as both Thor and Albatross are unable to change their target mid-flight.
One thing done by high-ranked players is to skip on any kind of air defense entirely, as Vertex are much more efficient when dealing with enemy aviation, but also requires much more micro-management and is obviously a bigger investment compared to just needing a lvl 1 Special Vehicle Factory. It can also leave the player open to counterattacks with aviation, if they ever run out of fuel.
A relatively unknown fact about Typhoon is that when it is in Siege Mode and Gold Vehicle Scout Boost is used, it is one of the units with the highest vision range in the game (only the Mammoth has more vision range). This makes it possible to slowly move and siege it 1 cell at a time to scout the enemy army position without being seen. This in turn can be used to make extremely accurate bombing runs with Thor, because the enemy won't know that they got scouted and will therefore most likely not move their units away.