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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty Online The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Heroes The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War The subject of this article appeared in Zombies mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Mobile The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile


Chopper Gunner is a Killstreak reward featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Online, Call of Duty: Heroes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a Scorestreak in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Mobile and a Killstreak and Scorestreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

The Chopper Gunner is a ground-controlled Killstreak reward which gives the player the ability to control an armed Helicopter. While the Rangers, SEALs and Task Force use the AH-64 Apache, the Spetsnaz, OpFor and Brazilian Militia use the Mi-28 Havoc. It is the first iteration of the "chopper gunner" killstreak in the Call of Duty franchise. While its effectiveness rivals that of the AC-130, it has been hailed by many as the most powerful killstreak of all time.

Contrary to popular belief that the Chopper Gunner lasts for 40 seconds, it lasts for approximately 58 seconds (including the time flying to the battlefield). Shots from the Apache's/Havoc's cannon are explosive and can penetrate light cover. It does have aim assist features, floating crosshair and a target marker. The steady stream of shots allows the user to easily kill many enemy targets, especially in outdoor levels. The pilot will occasionally call out targets, and will either orbit the map as an attack helicopter would or stop at points where enemies often spawn. The latter of these flight paths is noticeably more effective, and occurs at Afghan, Invasion, Skidrow, Favela, Scrapyard, Highrise, Terminal, and Trailer Park.

The chopper has one flare that is automatically deployed to divert guided enemy missiles. After this flare is spent, it can be hit with any missile. It is possible to shoot down a Mi-28/Apache with an unguided missile, since they are not affected by flares. It is also possible, although difficult, to shoot a guided missile from right below the chopper and if the distance is short, the flare will not have time to divert the missile. This is easier with Pave Lows, but is also possible with Chopper Gunners.

Chopper Gunner Kill streak in use

Controlling the M230 cannon

When first activated, the user sees, from the gunner's point of view, the helicopter taking off some distance from the battlefield and flying towards it. The user can begin firing almost immediately, but hitting targets at this distance is usually impossible because the gunner cannot shoot anything at such an angle.

If the user is killed while using the Chopper Gunner, they may finish using it before respawning. One exception is in Search and Destroy where it stops after the player dies, which applies to other user controlled killstreaks such as AC-130 and Predator Missile. Another exception to this rule is if the player reaches the team killing threshold in Hardcore Team Deathmatch, which causes them to suicide and sit out per the friendly fire penalty. Using a Flashbang on users of the Chopper Gunner is more useful than killing them in respawn gamemodes as it impairs their Gunner vision, while killing them makes it impossible to do so until the Chopper Gunner runs out.

Evasion/Destruction[]

The Chopper Gunner is easily destroyed by Stinger missiles, as only two are needed, and the maximum amount of missiles a Stinger can have is 2, which is no problem for Scavenger users. The helicopter has one flare. If an enemy player has a Harrier Jet in the air, the Harrier Jet can be used to kill the Chopper Gunner, as it is placed below the Harrier Strike.

With the KillCam, pausing the game while watching a Chopper Gunner's cam shows their position among the enemy team. This allows them to easily be killed by flanking maneuvers. Also, the users' position without pausing is seen by the green "+" symbol on the regular vision.

The user is extremely vulnerable to enemies while using the Chopper Gunner. Finding a hidden position, placing claymores, and using the Chopper Gunner to cover the player's position can all help when trying to achieve higher killstreaks.

Videos[]

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

"Be the gunner of an attack helicopter."
— In-game description

The Chopper Gunner makes a return in Call of Duty: Black Ops. However, it only requires a killstreak of 9 (8 with the Hardline perk).

After attaining the killstreak, the user takes control of a machine gun emplacement on a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter. It takes a short amount of time for the helicopter to reach the boundaries of the map. While this occurs, the player's character opens the side door of the chopper and takes the controls of the Minigun. Unlike the Modern Warfare 2 version, the Chopper Gunner in Black Ops flies around the edges the map instead of hovering over a particular zone for a few seconds and then moving to another. This Chopper Gunner also uses real first person imaging, unlike Modern Warfare 2's thermal imaging.

When the helicopter is above the map, the user is able to fire the minigun constantly for as long as the helicopter is being controlled. If shot down, the user can still fire the minigun, but much less accurately, as the chopper spins out of control towards the ground. There are no ammo limits or overheating to worry about; therefore most players simply hold the fire button down for the chopper's entire duration. Unlike the Modern Warfare 2 variant, the Minigun causes a stun effect to enemies it hits making them move more slowly, virtually ensuring the kill by making it almost impossible to escape.

The Chopper Gunner lasts for 60 seconds unless shot down. It has one set of flares which deter enemy missiles attempting to bring down the vehicle. The player controlling the gun can be killed but can continue using the killstreak reward. Like all other helicopter-based killstreaks in Black Ops, the UH-1 will appear differently based on whether it is controlled by friendly or hostile forces. "Friendly" Hueys will be painted in a tan camouflage with green markings, while "Enemy" Hueys will be painted in gray camouflage and have red markings.

Gallery[]

Video[]

Call of Duty: Online[]

Chopper Gunner was featured in the 2013 Beta of Call of Duty: Online. It was cut from the game.

Call of Duty: Heroes[]

"Take control of a minigun emplacement aboard a Helicopter"
— In-game description

It also appears in Call of Duty: Heroes, acting like it does in Black Ops. It is a Hero Skill exclusive to Price, and deals 8 damage initially.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

"Control an assault chopper armed with a turret and air-to-land missiles."
— In-game description


The Chopper Gunner returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as a Killstreak. The AH-64 Apache is used as the base vehicle for the Chopper Gunner and it is similar to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 version. It is different, however, in that it has a higher rate of fire, the ability to control the gunship's movement, ability to toggle between normal and thermal imaging, and ability to fire 8 Hydra rockets, akin to the VTOL Warship in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War[]

"Be the gunner in a close air support helicopter."
— In-game description


The Chopper Gunner returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War as a Scorestreak. It is one of the few Scorestreaks available within Zombies where it is craftable for 250 High-End Salvage or from the Mystery Box where it's classed as a Legendary tier item.

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

"Fire from the skies in a chopper with a gun that has unlimited ammo. Careful not to overheat!"
— Description


The Chopper Gunner returns in Call of Duty: Mobile. It was added in February 2022 as part of the Season 2: Task Force 141 update.

Compared to previous incarnations, rather than being a rapid-fire turret, it instead fires explosive rounds at a slower rate of fire. It is quite similar to the VTOL, though it lacks the burst of missiles and the explosives are weaker.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

"Control an assault chopper armed with a turret and air-to-land missiles."
— In-game description


The Chopper Gunner returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II as both Killstreak and Scorestreak functioning similarly to the previous games. Like in the previous Modern Warfare games, it uses the AH-64 Apache as the base vehicle.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

"Control an assault chopper armed with a turret and air-to-land missiles."
— In-game description


The Chopper Gunner returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III as both Killstreak and Scorestreak functioning identically to its Modern Warfare II version.

Campaign[]

The Chopper Gunner can be used in the mission Gora Dam, where it has limited amounts of Hydra rockets and cannon rounds.

Trivia[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

  • The pilot will sometimes call out targets in the language of the player's faction.
  • Completing the challenge Chopper Gunner I (calling in three Chopper Gunners) will unlock the title "Get to the Choppa!", which is a reference to the film "Predator".
  • Like other helicopters, the Chopper Gunner cannot be used while any other helicopters are in the air, with the exception of the Little Birds delivering Care Packages.
  • In levels with tall buildings, such as Skidrow, the Chopper Gunner can actually move through some buildings, due to the fact that buildings outside of the map aren't solid.
  • Not only can Harriers shoot down the Chopper Gunner, they will target it immediately upon its entry into their field of view.
  • If an enemy player throws a Stun Grenade or a Flashbang at the player controlling the Chopper, his vision will also be stunned or flashed with white light.
  • On Terminal, it is possible to attach C4 to the chopper by climbing on top of the building with the large propane tank and waiting for it to hover in front of the building.

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

  • The interior of the Chopper Gunner is highly detailed, lacking only the minute detail on the gauges and dials.
  • This killstreak is unavailable on the Wii version due to low RAM capacity.
  • If the player were to view a person using the Chopper Gunner in a kill-cam or a game winning kill-cam, the red squares surrounding enemy players will not appear.
  • It is possible to shoot down a Strela-3 missile that has been shot at the player while in the Chopper Gunner.
  • The picture of the Chopper Gunner in the Killstreaks menu shows it in Summit.
  • Regardless of what faction the player is, it will always be a Huey.
  • The character model operating the Minigun aboard the helicopter will always take the model of a soldier equipped with Flak Jacket, regardless of faction or the ground operator's Tier 1 Perk.
  • Similar to Modern Warfare 2, the pilot will speak to the player in the language of their faction.
  • On the minigun's ammo box, there are the words "7.62 CAL TR3Y" and on the next line "ARCH==342098".
  • On certain areas of maps, Spy Planes, Counter Spy Planes, and other air support fly low enough for them to be shot with the minigun.
    • Like with the Valkyrie Rockets and Gunship, destroying any streaks with the Minigun will count towards the challenge for destroying Chopper Gunners
  • Even though there is a pilot at the comms during the Chopper Gunner, there is in fact no pilot controlling the Huey. This is proved by going into Theatre Mode, taking the camera into the helicopter and looking into the cockpit.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

  • The Chopper can crash onto the field when it is destroyed, and the resulting explosion can kill players. However, there is no wreckage left behind by said chopper.
  • The Chopper Gunner also has two unique animations for when it is destroyed. If destroyed by rockets, the pilot will frantically attempt to right the chopper while making call outs to brace for impact. If destroyed by gunfire, the pilot will be killed by the stray bullets and the chopper goes down on its own.
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