GTA Online: Air Superiority

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Air Superiority is a content update for Grand Theft Auto Online, released on February 8, 2023.

Description[]

❝Nothing screams "American freedom" more than fighter jets laden with explosives obliterating ground- and air-based targets, along with everyone else around them. And nothing screams "American financial freedom" more than being paid for doing so. Take to the skies in all-new fighters, complete air contracts for the highest payers, and dogfight others in chaotic furballs. This is Air Superiority.❞

— Rockstar Newswire

Content[]

Jobs[]

Missions[]

Main article: Sorties

The update introduces a series of missions, known as Sorties, which are miniature heists similar to Contracts where the player uses weaponized aircraft to complete tasks for several characters. These missions are unlocked by a phone call in Free Mode provided the player owns a Hangar. The missions are managed by Fisher Squadron, a mercenary squadron led by Joseph Korez and Mayumi Yoshiwara, the player's AWACS and wingman respectively. The missions can be played by 1-4 players.

Furball[]

The update introduces a Deathmatch-esque mode called Furball, where players dogfight in the weaponized aircraft introduced in the update for the highest score.

Character Customization[]

85 new clothing items, including 12 masks, have been added.

Vehicles[]

This update adds a total of 19 new vehicles:

11 readily available with the initial release, including two custom vehicles.
8 released through event weeks.

Image	Name	Description	Notes
Available to purchase immediately
	P-997 PHAZER	A multirole fighter based on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle.
	P-13 Scorch	A multirole fighter-bomber based on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Dassault Mirage 2000.
	S-5 Shatter	A multirole stealth fighter based on the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, Chengdu J-20, Sukhoi Su-57, and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
	V-16 Opacus	An air superiority fighter based on the Mikoyan MiG-29 and its derivatives.
	V-32 Glavnyy	A multirole fighter based on the Sukhoi Su-27 and its derivatives.
	B-58 Smacker	An attack aircraft based on the Sukhoi Su-25 and LTV A-7 Corsair II.
	P-81 Gaia	A multirole air superiority fighter based on the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab JAS 39 Gripen.
	V-14 Sleeper	A patrol fighter based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 and Sukhoi Su-9.
	Escort Granger	An armored weaponized variant of the FIB Granger with a roof turret, based on the Dillon Aero Convoy Escort Vehicle.
	Junta	An electric hypercar based on the RAESR Tachyon Speed.
	Tartaruga	An armored fast-attack gunboat armed with an explosive cannon and an anti-air turret, based on the Gyurza-M-class artillery boat.
Unlocked as part of Event Weeks			Week
	P-73 Prowler	A two-seat sweep-wing fighter based on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.	Carrier Week
	V-88 Gnat	A supersonic interceptor based on the Mikoyan MiG-31 and Panavia Tornado.	Gnat Week
	X-44 Chojo	A supersonic forward-swept wing air superiority fighter based on the Sukhoi Su-47 and Grumman X-29.	Chojo Week
	Winky Pigeon	An experimental cross between a Winky and a helicopter, based on the Hafner Rotabuggy.	Winky Week
	P-10 Thunderhead	A vintage twin-boom fighter based on the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and Lockheed XP-49.	Warbird Week
	X-17 Aileron	An experimental advanced stealth fighter based on the ADF-01 FALKEN and XFA-27 from the Ace Combat series.	Experimental Week
	Weaponized Mammatus	A weaponized ground attack variant of the Mammatus, partially based on the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and Cessna AC-208 Combat Caravan.	Flight School Week
	Gauntlet Chaff	A heavily-modified Gauntlet Hellfire with optional machine gun ports, based on the Dodge Vapor.	Head-To-Head Week

Weapons[]

Three new weapons were added:

Name	Description	Notes
PSW	A foldable shotgun designed for hunting, based on the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon.	Unlocked after completing five Sorties.
Heavy SMG	A submachine gun with a helical magazine, based on the Calico M950A and Calico M960A.
Ballistic Shield	A NOOSE-marked ballistic shield, used alongside a custom Shield Pistol.

Changes[]

The Chaff countermeasure has been reworked, making it significantly more effective. When deployed, in addition to its original ability to prevent locks, Chaff now cancels locks as well. The lock-on blocking time has also been increased to ten seconds from the previous five.
- As of 1.67, if another aircraft flies through the Chaff cloud, it will display a false lock-on warning.
The ejection mechanic of the P-996 LAZER has been added to all fighter jets.

Trivia[]

The title of this update comes from air superiority, where an air force in combat manages to occupy an airspace while denying an enemy's access to it.
Much of this update's content references the Ace Combat series by Bandai Namco.
- Fisher Squadron being described as a mercenary squadron references Air Combat, Ace Combat 2, and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, where the player controls a member of an aerial mercenary squadron.
- The X-44 Chojo originating from Japan may be a reference to the ASF-X Shinden II, a similarly-designed aircraft which, in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, was designed to secure Japanese airspace.
- The X-17 Aileron is based on the ADF-01 FALKEN and the XFA-27, two experimental fictional aircraft from the Ace Combat series.
- The briefings for each Sortie resemble those from the Ace Combat series, consisting of a stylized map with images on a blue-tinted terminal.
- Several liveries for aircraft added in this update are based on aircraft liveries from the Ace Combat series.
Initially, an Anti-Ship Missile was planned to be added in this update. The Anti-Ship Missile, like its Anti-Air and Anti-Ground counterparts, would deal higher damage against waterborne targets, at the cost of having extremely poor vertical turning abilities. However, it was scrapped, likely due to the use of watercraft in GTA Online being extremely low, and the Anti-Ship Missile's abilities were added to the Anti-Ground Missile.