Gunship
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The Gunship is a large, flying 
Automaton vehicle equipped with rockets and Heavy Fusion Cycler.
Spawning
Gunships spawn from Gunship Facilities on 
Hard and above. Gunship Facilities will begin spawning Gunships when Helldivers are within 150m from it, spawning up to two at a time, with a maximum of four per tower.
They may also spawn as patrols in groups of two to four if the Gunship Patrols operation modifier is active.
Behavior
Upon spawning from a Gunship Facility, the Gunship will search for Helldivers in its immediate vicinity. If it's within patrols, it will fly across the map in a straight line. Any Helldivers that alert one Gunship within a patrol will alert the rest.
Upon locating a Helldiver, it will begin hovering over them from a distance, firing its Heavy Fusion Cycler. It will occasionally fire a six rocket salvo, up to four times. After exhausting its rockets, it will begin firing its Heavy Fusion Cycler only for up to eight seconds, varying in length based on the Gunship's line of sight to a Helldiver. Its Heavy Fusion Cycler has a one second cooldown between bursts.
When a Helldiver deals a lethal blow, the Gunship will crash land, before violently exploding. The Gunship itself can crush Helldivers during its crash landing.
Anatomy
| Part Name | Health1 | AV2 | Durable2 | % To Main3 | Overflow Cap?4 | Constitution5 | Fatal? | ExDR6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | 950 |  Medium |
 |
0% | - | - | None | Yes | 0% |
| Fuselage | Main | Medium |
|
100% | 100% | Yes | None | Yes | 100% |
| Front Thruster (2) |
400 | Medium |
|
85% | 0% | Yes | None | Yes | 0% |
| Rear Thruster (2) |
400 | Medium |
|
80% | 0% | Yes | None | Yes | 0% |
Disclaimer: Each highlighted part with a count has its own health. Parts without a count share health pools.
1) Parts with their HP listed as "Main" do not have their own individual health. All damage dealt to these parts is transferred to the enemy's Main health pool.
2) Refer to armor values and enemy durability as defined in Damage.
3) Damage dealt to a part will also be transferred in part or in full to main health.
4) If set to "Yes", damage transferred to Main is limited by the max health of the part.
5) Constitution is a second health pool that, once main or limb health has been depleted, may decay. The first number is the total constitution and the second is the decay rate. If set to 0/s there is no decay and the constitution behaves as extra health.
6) ExDR means explosive damage resistance, and can range from 0 to 100%. If a part's value is 100%, the limb cannot take explosion damage; The explosive damage will instead target Main. Note: This can only occur once, regardless of parts hit and explosion armor penetration must match or exceed Main armor to deal damage.
Weapons Loadout
Heavy Fusion Cycler
A Heavy Fusion Repeater modified to sustain a much longer salvo. The Heavy Fusion Cycler allows the Gunship to lay down a withering hail of fire. Often additionally modified with improved targeting packages to compensate for firing on the move
| Stat | Value | |
|---|---|---|
  Damage
|
60 Ballistic Damage 15 Durable Damage | |
 AP
|
3/3/3/0 | |
 Fire Rate
|
500RPM (3s Burst) 1s (Heat Cooldown) | |
 Spread (Mrad)
|
↔[50.00] ↕[50.00] | |
 Demo Force
|
20 | |
 Stagger Force
|
20 | |
 Push Force
|
15 | |
HEAT Rocket Racks
Augmenting the Gunships arsenal are 2 Rocket Racks loaded with standard HEAT munitions. Such dual-purpose munitions are primarily an anti-infantry weapon, blasting apart entire squads alone. Though they are also effective at cracking open vehicles.
| Stat | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Damage
|
30 Impact Damage 100 Durable Damage | |
| AOE |  Damage
|
70 Blast |
 Inner
|
0.65m | |
| Outer
|
1.65m | |
| Shockwave
|
3.15m | |
 AP
|
3/2/3 | |
| AP
|
6/5/4/0 | |
| Fire Rate
|
600RPM (Salvo) 6 Rockets per Salvo 5.4s (Reload Cycle) | |
 Equipment Uses
|
24 Rockets (Total Capacity) | |
| Spread (Mrad)
|
↔[0.1] ↕[0.1] | |
| Demo Force
|
20 (Warhead), 30 (Blast) | |
| Stagger Force
|
50 (Warhead), 30 (Blast) (Both Ragdoll) | |
| Push Force
|
25 (Warhead), 40 (Blast) | |
Crash and Burn (Fuselage)
Being multiple tons of steel, ammunition and fuel, even a plummeting Gunship is an equal danger to its targets than if it was still airborne, slamming the ground with great force and burying those too slow to escape with burning wreckage.
| Stat | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Damage
|
0 Damage 0 Damage | |
| AOE | Damage
|
100 Blast |
| Inner
|
4m | |
| Outer
|
8m | |
| Shockwave
|
16m | |
| AP
|
3/2/3 | |
| AP
|
0/0/0/0 | |
| Fire Rate
|
Death Explosion | |
| Spread (Mrad)
|
Death Explosion | |
| Demo Force
|
20 | |
| Stagger Force
|
50 (Ragdolls) | |
| Push Force
|
40 | |
Crash and Burn (Engines)
Downed gunships additionally crash onto terra firma with such force they often disintegrate into multiple parts, in particular the Engine Pods often break off with considerable force, crushing or slamming into any unfortunate being in the way.
| Stat | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Damage
|
0 Damage 0 Damage | |
| AOE | Damage
|
100 Blast |
| Inner
|
2m | |
| Outer
|
4m | |
| Shockwave
|
8m | |
| AP
|
3/2/3 | |
| AP
|
0/0/0/0 | |
| Fire Rate
|
Death Explosion | |
| Spread (Mrad)
|
Death Explosion | |
| Demo Force
|
40 | |
| Stagger Force
|
50 (Ragdolls) | |
| Push Force
|
40 | |
Fuel Explosion
Now often still burning, crashed Gunships are a ticking time bomb before said flames ignite either unburned fuel or undetonated ammunition loads. Such explosions are both devastating to those nearby and supposedly spectacular who (safely) witness it.
| Stat | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Damage
|
0 Damage 0 Damage | |
| AOE | Damage
|
300 Blast |
| Inner
|
5m | |
| Outer
|
12m | |
| Shockwave
|
18m | |
| AP
|
6/5/6 | |
| AP
|
0/0/0/0 | |
| Fire Rate
|
Death Explosion | |
| Spread (Mrad)
|
Death Explosion | |
| Demo Force
|
40 | |
| Stagger Force
|
50 (Ragdolls) | |
| Push Force
|
40 | |
Tactical Information
- Gunships are dangerous enemies, as unlike other Automatons, they are fast and difficult to hit. They also stay far away from Helldivers and are heavily armored, requiring substantial and accurate firepower to shoot down. In most situations, they should receive immediate targeting priority due to the threat they pose.
- Gunships tend to strafe around any cover that Helldivers may be using to shoot at them from more vulnerable angles. This can leave Helldivers vulnerable to other Automatons as they reposition themselves.
- Gunships are also armed with rockets that can inflict tremendous stagger and knock Helldivers out from behind cover.
- Gunships will always fire directly at Helldivers with their rockets, or lead them if they are moving. When a rocket barrage is incoming, Helldivers should either immediately move away or quickly change their running direction.
- Destroying any component of a Gunship will immediately bring it down. For this reason, Helldivers should focus on an individual part and not indiscriminately fire at it.
- The main fuselage is more armored and is fully durable, on top of being explosive-immune, so it can be harmed only by direct projectiles that inflict high durability damage.
- The weakest parts of a Gunship are its thrusters with less HP and durability. The rear thrusters are slightly less durable than the forward thrusters, but as Gunships tend to be constantly facing Helldivers, the rear thrusters end up being more difficult for Helldivers to hit.
- Certain
Medium armor penetrating Primary Weapons such as the R-36CS Diligence Counter Sniper and the Plas-101 Purifier can quickly take down Gunships, requiring nine and two fully-charged shots respectively to a thruster. - Support Weapons, such as the AC-8 Autocannon and APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle, can take down a Gunship with two shots to a single thruster. Notably, the RS-4SS Railgun is capable of shooting down a Gunship with one fully-charged unsafe shot to any of its thrusters, or two to its fuselage.
- The LAS-98 Laser Cannon is also a good choice, as it can bring down a Gunship fairly quickly without the need to finely aim given the beam.
- The MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun needs to put at least eight shots into a single thruster to bring down a Gunship. This can be difficult for Helldivers due to the Heavy Machine Gun's recoil and handling.
- The E/MG-101 HMG Emplacement's high fire rate can shoot down Gunships with raw damage to their fuselages if needed. Its emplaced nature also means that it is well-suited for Helldivers to call down next to a Gunship Facility, destroying Gunships as they spawn. Helldivers can also place them in preparation of an incoming Gunship Patrol to the same effect.
- Any anti-tank weapon is capable of destroying a Gunship in one shot, regardless of where it hits. The Spear is capable of locking on and firing, requiring minimal effort from a Helldiver. However, it can be considered overkill for a weapon that can only carry four missiles at a time. A better alternative is the StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher which can lock on to a gunship and destroy it with either a single lucky hit on a thruster or 2 to the fuselage and can destroy up to 4 gunships if the last missile hits a thruster before needing to reload. The Commando is theoretically capable of shooting down four Gunships in rapid succession, but is the most difficult to aim due to the slow speed of its rockets.
- Certain
- Activating a SEAF SAM Site provides an easy and reliable way of taking down Gunships. Any that come within range of the site will be automatically fired at and shot down, provided that level geometry, like cliffs, do not get in the way.
Trivia
- They were quietly introduced to the game on April 2nd, 2024 in addition to the Factory Strider during Phase III of Operation Swift Disassembly.
Change History
Patch
Description
1.006.001
2026-02-03
Changes
- Rocket Impact now deals increased damage vs Durable Targets
- Durable Damage increased from 30 to 100
- Updated its targeting software and should now be better at hitting their targets
Undocumented Changes
- Spread for Fusion Cycler increased from 35 to 50
1.003.000
2025-05-13
1.001.100
2024-09-17
Changes
- Gunships now have a limited amount of rockets.
- Rocket physics collision is now smaller, making them easier to avoid.
1.001.002
2024-08-06
Changes
- Gunship Patrols are now less frequent and the amount of ships are reduced.
- Forward Gunship Engine durability reduced from 100% to 85%.
- Rear Gunship Engine durability reduced from 100% to 80%.
1.000.400
2024-06-13
Undocumented Change
- Gunships can now appear as a patrol in groups of three when the operation Gunship Patrols is active.
1.000.302
2024-05-07
Change
- Increased Gunship hearing range slightly.
1.000.300
2024-04-29
Change
- Gunships sideways movement slightly increased
Fix
- Fixed issues where Automaton Gunships sometimes could not see the player.
1.000.200
2024-04-02
Addition
- Added to the game.
Scavenger • Bile Spitter • Pouncer • Hunter • Shrieker • Warrior • Bile Warrior • Alpha Warrior • Hive Guard • Nursing Spewer • Bile Spewer • Brood Commander • Alpha Commander • Stalker • Charger • Spore Charger • Charger Behemoth • Impaler • Bile Titan • Dragonroach • Hive Lord
Trooper • Brawler • Commissar • Rocket Raider • Marauder • MG Raider • Berserker • Devastator • Rocket Devastator • Heavy Devastator • Scout Strider • Reinforced Scout Strider • Hulk Obliterator • Hulk Scorcher • Hulk Bruiser • War Strider • Annihilator Tank • Shredder Tank • Barrager Tank • Gunship • Dropship • Factory Strider
