The Battlefield 6 Top Gun update is now live as part of Season 4 Phase 2, bringing Carrier Strike, Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, two new fighter jets, the Interdictor sniper rifle, Wake Island, Top Gun-themed rewards, and a limited free trial. Update 1.4.2.0 puts most of its focus on large-scale naval and aerial combat, with Carrier Strike built around attacking and boarding enemy aircraft carriers while Fighter Sweep turns REDSEC into a dedicated jet-combat arena.
The Top Gun event runs from August 18 to September 15, 2026, while the Battlefield 6 free trial is available from August 18–25. Carrier Strike and Fighter Sweep are not currently confirmed as permanent modes, so the event window is the safest time to play both.
In this guide, we cover:
- Everything new in Battlefield 6 Update 1.4.2.0
- Top Gun event dates, Ace Medals, and rewards
- How Carrier Strike works
- How to damage and board the enemy carrier
- How Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep works in REDSEC
- F-74A Seacat and F/A-81F Super Spectre differences
- Pilot and WSO roles
- Beginner jet flying tips and cloud cover mechanics
- Best classes and loadouts for Carrier Strike
What’s Included in Update 1.4.2.0
Update 1.4.2.0 adds much more than Carrier Strike and Fighter Sweep. The main additions include:
- Wake Island returns with the new MV Cetus shipwreck, ziplines, tunnels, a usable AA gun, and objectives that boats can contest from the water.
- Tsuru Reef gets an expanded layout built around the new naval and aerial content.
- F-74A Seacat and F/A-81F Super Spectre join the vehicle roster as new two-seat fighter jets.
- Interdictor arrives as Battlefield 6’s new extreme-range sniper rifle.
- CJTF Helix joins as a new Top Gun-inspired squad unit.
- Rooster, Bob, and Warlock appear in-game, voiced by their original Top Gun: Maverick actors Miles Teller, Lewis Pullman, and Charles Parnell.
- REDSEC’s Fort Lyndon gets the crashed USS Grant as a new explorable POI with higher-value loot.
- Portal Custom Lobbies and Spectator Mode arrive alongside a new ADS Dispersion Crosshair and other gameplay improvements.
Top Gun Rewards and Ace Medals
Top Gun uses Ace Medals, a limited-time event currency earned through challenges. You can spend them on ten rewards in any order, and unlocking all ten opens a final exchange for the Ace Aviator Soldier Skin.
Every medal needed to complete the event can be earned through gameplay. BF Pro adds extra challenge opportunities, while two paid Top Gun bundles also include bonus Ace Medals.
Keeping up with the Top Gun event is already enough of a grind. If you don’t want regular resets piling up too, our Battlefield 6 Daily & Weekly Challenges Boost can clear your active daily and weekly objectives while progressing XP, weapon levels, and Battle Pass milestones along the way.
How Carrier Strike Works
Carrier Strike is Battlefield 6’s modern take on Battlefield 2142’s Titan mode and Battlefield 4’s Carrier Assault. It’s 64 players (32v32), single-round, 30-minute timer, set on Tsuru Reef. NATO’s USS Grant faces Pax Armata’s PXS Condor.
Win conditions: reduce the enemy carrier to 0% HP, destroy both interior M-COMs, or hold the higher HP when time expires. An exact HP tie is a draw.
The carrier doubles as objective and spawn base, with an interior HQ so defenders can redeploy close to the action. Jets also launch from its flight deck at high altitude.
Damaging the carrier: Five SSM Battery sites act as capture points, each firing on the enemy carrier every 15 seconds while held. Losing or recapturing a site resets its cooldown, so a well-timed counter-push can deny a salvo about to fire. Majority control also unlocks automated AA emplacements. Separately, jet bombs, tank rounds, other vehicle weapons, explosives, and shoulder-fired launchers all chip the hull directly — a jet bomb run deals as much damage as an SSM strike, so contesting the skies matters.
At 50% health, the carrier enters a critical state and its interior opens from the water. Boarding squads push in, destroy the Interior M-COM, then the Main Reactor M-COM behind it — destroying both is an instant win regardless of HP. Don’t abandon the SSM sites once boarding opens, though: sending everyone inside hands surface control back to the enemy.
Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep
Fighter Sweep lives in Battlefield REDSEC, not Battlefield 6’s standard multiplayer — it’s free-to-play and takes place over a reworked Tsuru Reef, playing like a modern, squad-based spin on Battlefield’s old Air Superiority mode. Carrier Strike normally requires Battlefield 6, though it’s included in the August 18–25 free trial (six modes across Tsuru Reef, Wake Island, Cairo Bazaar, and Hagental Base).
It’s also a good place to learn to fly: you deploy straight into a jet with no ground spawn, take the WSO seat to learn without piloting, or warm up on stationary drone stockpiles first.
Basics: 12 players, six squads of two, 10-minute matches, first to 1,000 points wins (or the leader at time-out), final 60 seconds double all scoring.
| Action | Points |
| Enemy jet destroyed | +50 |
| Drone cargo stockpile destroyed | +15 |
| Intentional jet crash | +4 to every other squad |
| Final 60 seconds | All points doubled |
That crash mechanic is easy to misread — it doesn’t cost you points, it hands your rivals a free 4 each. In the final minute, a jet kill effectively becomes 100 points and a stockpile 30, so prioritize eliminations but sweep up stockpiles too.
Fighter Sweep gets much easier with a coordinated squadmate in the other seat. With our Battlefield 6 REDSEC Rent a Booster, you can play alongside an experienced player for live coordination, tactical feedback, and help completing your REDSEC goals.
Pilot and WSO Roles
Both jets fly with a two-person crew; the squad leader pilots by default. The Pilot handles throttle, turning, and the forward cannon. The WSO runs secondary weapons and targeting while freely looking around the aircraft, engaging threats to the sides and rear the pilot can’t cover. Coordinating the two seats is a major part of the skill ceiling here.
| Jet | Best for | Key feature |
| F-74A Seacat | Air-to-air combat | Variable-sweep wings toggling high-speed/high-maneuverability modes; WSO gets AA missiles including one that can reacquire lost locks |
| F/A-81F Super Spectre | Mixed air/ground combat | Swappable cannon ammo and flexible air/ground loadouts; WSO can choose a jammer plus either a precision or remote-guided strike weapon |
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Beginner Flying Tips
- Enable Simplified Jet Controls (Gameplay → Vehicles → Airplane Control Assists) if manual pitch/roll/yaw isn’t clicking — it steers toward your camera and handles those three axes automatically.
- Use both camera views — third-person for awareness, first-person/zoom for aiming.
- Don’t flare too early. Wait until the HUD shows a projectile is actually Incoming.
- Attack from altitude: gain height, line up, then dive rather than aiming while skimming terrain.
- Advanced: the two Top Gun jets support throttle splitting — yaw while throttling down and hitting afterburner shifts power between engines for a sharper evasive turn.
Clouds obstruct vision, remove spotting, and can break or prevent a missile lock. Lock-on systems also can’t acquire a jet below 30 meters above ground — riskier, but another way out if you’re out of flares. One caveat: clouds don’t block incoming fire, so treat them as concealment, not a force field.
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Best Classes for Carrier Strike
Carrier Strike rewards a mixed squad, since it cycles between open vehicle combat and close-quarters boarding.
- Assault — sustained boarding pressure. Drop a Deploy Beacon near the enemy carrier once the breach phase opens, so a wiped first wave gets back into the fight fast. The L85A3 or NVO-228E suits the open SSM fighting; the M433 or TR-7 works better once the battle moves inside.
- Engineer — vehicles and aircraft. Carry an anti-vehicle launcher for tanks and boats, or anti-air if your team lacks SSM territory. Engineers also contribute direct carrier damage with shoulder-fired launchers. Forcing an aircraft to burn countermeasures now scores points on its own, even without a kill.
- Support — keeping the boarding push alive. Smoke and revives matter more than raw damage once the fight moves inside. Defibrillator charges now fully recharge while swimming, which suits squads approaching from the water.
- Recon — overwatch and marking. The Interdictor is the game’s longest-range sniper, built to threaten pilots (peak lethality 120–150 m) — strong on Tsuru Reef’s sightlines. The Tracer Dart now properly feeds launcher locks, and laser designation is broader too: painted targets are visible to Patrol Boat and Deployable Mortar crews, and fighter Precision Bombs can track them.
Planning to use the Interdictor beyond the Top Gun event? Our Battlefield 6 Sniper Rifles Leveling Boost can level your chosen sniper rifle and unlock its scopes, barrels, and ammo options without the usual weapon XP grind.
A squad running one of each — beacon Assault, launcher Engineer, medic Support, marking Recon — covers most of what Carrier Strike throws at you without needing a rigid “meta” comp.
Carrier Strike rewards coordination more than almost anything else in this update. If you’d rather queue with a reliable teammate than gamble on random squads, Battlefield 6 Rent a Booster Service for coordinated objective pushes, revives, class support, and live tactical guidance built around your goals.
Check out more Battlefield 6 guides:
- Battlefield 6 RCB-90 and Naval Warfare Guide
- Battlefield 6 Tsuru Reef Map Guide: Layout, Rotations, and Strategy
- Battlefield 6 Season 4 Guide: Release Date, Roadmap, Tsuru Reef & New Weapons
- Battlefield 6 Season 3 Final Phase: High-Value Target Update and Wet Work Event Guide
- Golmud Railway and Grand Bazaar Are Back in BF6 — What Changed and Why These Remakes Matter
Frequently Asked Questions
Update 1.4.2.0 adds Carrier Strike, Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, Wake Island, an expanded Tsuru Reef, the F-74A Seacat and F/A-81F Super Spectre jets, and the Interdictor sniper rifle. It also adds Ace Medal rewards, CJTF Helix, Top Gun characters, Portal improvements, the ADS Dispersion Crosshair, and a new crashed USS Grant POI in REDSEC.
When does the Battlefield 6 Top Gun event end?
The Battlefield 6 Top Gun event runs from August 18 to September 15, 2026. Its Ace Medal challenges and event rewards are tied to that limited-time window.
Is Battlefield 6 free to play during the Top Gun event?
Yes. Battlefield 6 has a free trial from August 18–25, 2026, covering six modes across Tsuru Reef, Wake Island, Cairo Bazaar, and Hagental Base.
Is Carrier Strike permanent in Battlefield 6?
Carrier Strike is not currently confirmed as a permanent mode. EA launched it with Season 4 Phase 2 while evaluating player reception, with future rotations or expansion to additional maps possible.
How does Carrier Strike work in Battlefield 6?
Carrier Strike is a 32v32, 30-minute mode on Tsuru Reef where both teams defend their own aircraft carrier while attacking the enemy’s. You can win by reducing the opposing carrier to 0% HP, destroying both interior M-COMs, or having more carrier health when the timer expires.
How do you damage and destroy the enemy carrier in Carrier Strike?
Capture any of the five SSM Batteries to automatically fire missiles at the enemy carrier every 15 seconds. You can also deal direct hull damage with jet bombs, tank rounds, explosives, vehicle weapons, and shoulder-fired launchers.
When can you board the enemy carrier in Carrier Strike?
The carrier becomes boardable once its health falls to 50%, putting it into a critical state. Attackers can then enter from the water, destroy the first interior M-COM, and push into the main reactor room for the second.
What map is Carrier Strike played on in Battlefield 6?
Carrier Strike is played on the expanded Tsuru Reef, Battlefield 6’s largest map. The mode adds full aircraft-carrier gameplay to the map.
What is Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep in Battlefield 6?
Fighter Sweep is a jets-only REDSEC mode inspired by Battlefield’s classic Air Superiority gameplay. Six two-player squads fight over Tsuru Reef, earning points from destroying enemy jets and drone cargo stockpiles.
Is Fighter Sweep free to play in Battlefield REDSEC?
Yes. Fighter Sweep is part of Battlefield REDSEC, which is free-to-play, so you do not need to own Battlefield 6 to access the mode.
How does Fighter Sweep scoring work?
Destroying an enemy jet awards 50 points, while destroying a drone cargo stockpile gives 15 points. Intentional crashes award 4 points to every rival squad, and all scoring doubles during the final 60 seconds.
How do you get Ace Medals in Battlefield 6?
Ace Medals are earned mainly by completing Top Gun event challenges. Every medal required to finish the event reward track can be earned through gameplay, while BF Pro adds extra challenge opportunities and some paid bundles include bonus medals.
What can you buy with Ace Medals in the Top Gun event?
Ace Medals can be exchanged for ten selectable Top Gun rewards, and you can unlock them in any order. Getting all ten opens a final exchange for the Ace Aviator Soldier Skin.
How do you unlock the Interdictor sniper rifle in Battlefield 6?
The Interdictor is the new extreme-range sniper rifle introduced with Update 1.4.2.0, but its unlock route has been presented inconsistently across event-era materials. Its main gameplay role is long-range Recon, with peak lethality around 120–150 meters and enough range to threaten exposed pilots.
What rewards are available in the Battlefield 6 Top Gun event?
The event has ten Ace Medal rewards plus the final Ace Aviator Soldier Skin for completing the full track. The crossover also includes Top Gun-themed cosmetics and appearances from Rooster, Bob, and Warlock.
What are the F-74A Seacat and F/A-81F Super Spectre?
They are the two new two-seat fighter jets introduced with the Top Gun update. Each carries a Pilot and Weapons Systems Officer and is built around a different combat role.
What is the difference between the Seacat and Super Spectre?
The F-74A Seacat specializes in air-to-air combat and uses variable-sweep wings for speed or maneuverability. The F/A-81F Super Spectre is a multirole aircraft with more flexible air-to-air and air-to-ground weapon options, including anti-radiation weapons and WSO support systems.
How do Simplified Jet Controls work in Battlefield 6?
Airplane Control Assists automatically manage pitch, roll, and yaw to steer the aircraft toward where your camera is pointing. They are designed to make jet flying more approachable for players who struggle with full manual controls.
How do clouds and missile locks work in Fighter Sweep?
Flying into cloud cover obstructs vision, removes spotting, and can break or prevent missile locks. Clouds do not physically stop incoming fire, though, so they work as concealment rather than protection.
What changed on Wake Island in Battlefield 6 Update 1.4.2.0?
Wake Island returns with the MV Cetus shipwreck, multiple ziplines, underground tunnels, a usable AA gun, and capture zones extending into the water. These changes give infantry and boats more routes and make naval combat a much bigger part of the classic map.
