The Gunship is a flying, heavily-armored Automaton vehicle armed with rockets and laser machine guns, making it a highly mobile and formidable threat.

Spawning

Gunships spawn from Gunship Facilities, first appearing on Hard difficulty and above.

Gunship Facilities will start deploying Gunships when Helldivers come within 150 meters, releasing up to two at a time, with a maximum of four per facility.
If the Gunship Patrols modifier is active, they may spawn in patrols of two to four, roaming the battlefield.

Behavior

Upon spawning, Gunships actively search for Helldivers. If part of a patrol, they fly across the map in a straight line, but alerting one Gunship alerts all others nearby.

Once a Helldiver is detected, Gunships will hover at a distance, firing 18-round bursts from their laser machine guns.

They will occasionally launch a six-rocket salvo, repeating up to four times before switching exclusively to machine gun fire with a one-second cooldown between bursts.

If a lethal blow is dealt, Gunships will crash land before violently exploding, potentially crushing Helldivers on impact.

Tactics

  • Gunships are highly dangerous, as they are fast, heavily armored, and difficult to hit. Due to their high mobility and range, they should be treated as a top priority target.
  • Gunships will strafe around cover, attempting to attack from more vulnerable angles, forcing Helldivers into open positions where other Automatons can engage them.
  • Gunship rockets deal heavy stagger, easily knocking Helldivers out from behind cover.
  • Rocket salvos are aimed directly at Helldivers or slightly ahead if they are moving. To evade, Helldivers should immediately change direction or take cover when a barrage is incoming.
  • Destroying any component of a Gunship will bring it down immediately, making it more effective to focus on a single part rather than spraying fire indiscriminately.
  • The main fuselage is the most durable part, featuring Heavy armor, explosive immunity, and full durability, making it highly resistant to general weaponry.
  • Gunship thrusters are the weakest points, featuring Medium armor and lower HP compared to the fuselage.
  • Rear thrusters are slightly weaker, but since Gunships tend to face Helldivers, they are more difficult to hit.
  • Certain Medium armor-penetrating weapons, like the R-36CS Diligence Counter Sniper and Plas-101 Purifier, can quickly take down Gunships by targeting thrusters, requiring nine and two fully-charged shots, respectively.
  • Support Weapons, including the AC-8 Autocannon and APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle, can bring down a Gunship with two shots to a single thruster.
  • The RS-4SS Railgun can shoot down a Gunship with a single fully-charged unsafe shot to a thruster or two shots to the fuselage.
  • The MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun requires at least eight shots to a single thruster to bring a Gunship down, though its recoil can make this difficult.
  • The E/MG-101 HMG Emplacement can sustain fire on a Gunship, destroying it through raw damage. Placing an HMG Emplacement near a Gunship Facility allows Helldivers to quickly destroy them as they spawn.
  • All anti-tank weapons can destroy a Gunship with a single hit, regardless of where it lands.
  • The Spear can lock on and fire easily, but due to its limited four-missile capacity, it is not always the best choice.
  • A better alternative is the StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher, which can lock onto a Gunship and destroy it with a single well-placed hit to a thruster or two hits to the fuselage, allowing it to eliminate up to four Gunships before needing to reload.
  • The Commando can take down four Gunships in quick succession, though its slow rocket speed makes aiming difficult.
  • One of the most reliable methods to counter Gunships is to activate a SEAF SAM Site. Any Gunships that enter its range will be automatically targeted and shot down, provided that level geometry (such as cliffs) does not obstruct the missile trajectory.