Instantly recognizable to any connoisseur of military-themed action movies, the Valkyrie has more Vinewood credits to its name than Jack Howitzer. One of the few survivors of the 1960s war effort that the American government is still willing to invest in.Warstock Cache & Carry description.
The Buckingham Valkyrie (pronounced Valk-er-ee) is a military transport helicopter featured in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Heists update.
Design
The Valkyrie is mainly based on the Bell UH-1Y Venom, a four-bladed, modernized version of the American Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" utilized by the United States Marines. However, unlike the UH-1Y, the exhausts are very close to each other, similarly to a Bell 212/UH-1N Twin Huey/412, and it features a Fenestron tail rotor from a Eurocopter Dauphin or Kamov Ka-60, which has a similar empennage.
The Valkyrie is a rather large helicopter that features a rounded nose, large windows and access doors, as well as a lower section that mounts a frontal turret. On the middle section, there is a large engine compartment with the corresponding intakes on the front, the dual exhausts on the rear and the main rotor with a circular hub on top of the blades, while the lower area consist of an open bay with non-interactive cockpit doors, a lower structure extending to the sides of the helicopter and black skids. The tail boom and empennage are relatively large as well, featuring tall fins on the horizontal stabilizers and a tall vertical stabilizer, housing a fenestron tail rotor with numerous blades and circular hubs. The aircraft features black markings around the fuselage and may have one of the following decals on the nose: a white spade, a pinup model with the caption "Miss Zancudo", or a pinup model bending over with the caption "Come & take it".
The interior of the aircraft is relatively large, featuring a wide instrument panel and an open section leading to the rear bay. The same bay features vertical frames and side-facing seats for the rear passengers/gunners. In the enhanced version, it uses the same "Flyer" dials as the Maverick and Police Maverick, and shares the same arrangement with the Annihilator.
The aircraft only spawn in a dark grey primary color around the fuselage and a black secondary color on the nose, up to the windshield and the doors.
The vehicle is equipped with port and starboard mounted Miniguns seemingly based on the GAU-17/A minigun, as well as a four-barrel gatling gun on the nose, which appear to resemble a Yakushev-Borzov YakB-12.7 mm machine gun.
Current Design Gallery
Performance
Vehicle
The Valkyrie has an above average speed at 140 knots, making it slower than the Swift, but slightly faster than the Buzzard and the Buzzard Attack Chopper. It is quite maneuverable and is capable of turning quickly, which is useful in aerial engagements when the Valkyrie's port and starboard gunners need to aim. While flying forwards with full power and fully pitched forwards, the helicopter will descend very slowly. The helicopter also has a slight rightward list, which affects the aircraft during all modes of flight.
The aircraft is powered by twin turboshaft engines, which produce a traditional sound shared with most civilian aircraft, most notably the Frogger due to the four-bladed main rotor.
Defense
Like most civilian aircraft, the Valkyrie is quite fragile, as its engines will begin to smoke after a short amount of small arms fire to any part of its fuselage or instantly destroyed by a single grenade, bomb or rocket. The explosive rounds from the Heavy Sniper Mk II can make short work of the helicopter, needing only two or three hits to destroy it. Despite the aircraft's model having a fenestron tail rotor, the rotor can still be shot and destroyed, unlike the Frogger, FH-1 Hunter, or Akula.
While the helicopter has good maneuverability, it is still rather large, leaving little room for error while avoiding enemy homing missiles. While more difficult than with a Buzzard Attack Chopper, it is still feasible against the Homing Launcher.
Weaponry
Alone, the pilot cannot control any of the crew-operated weapons, but with a well-coordinated team, the Valkyrie can pose a major threat to any air or ground units.
- Machine Gun: The two miniguns on the Valkyrie's port and starboard sides have a fast rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute and are capable of destroying an unarmored vehicle within a few seconds of sustained fire. The miniguns have a very long firing range and can hit _targets from approximately 500 meters/1600 feet away, but suffer from reduced accuracy at range. They also feature a very wide turning and elevation radius, being able to fire almost directly 180 degrees facing forward or backward, albeit having poor gun depression. If there is only one player manning the miniguns, that player can press right on the D-Pad, or H on PC, to switch between the port and starboard miniguns. The recoil from firing the miniguns will push the helicopter in the opposite direction.
- Machine Gun: The autocannon on the Valkyrie's nose fires explosive 40mm rounds, though at a significantly slower rate of fire of 240 rounds per minute and a seemingly limited range of about 200 meters/650 feet - a compromise remedied by the gun's powerful destructive capability. When the first officer is utilizing the autocannon, the game displays a camera view, similar to other helicopters fitted with nose-mounted cameras. In this state, the gunner can aim where they need to shoot and can decimate vehicles and other players easily, due to its explosive ammo. The pilot can also see the camera view when used, in order to verify the first officer´s _targets or locate enemies.
| Take-Off Speed (0-60 knots in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh / knots) |
Vertical Climb/ Descent Rate (ft/min) |
Engine Type | Engine Location | Mass (kg / lbs) |
Fuel Tank Size (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 102.5 / 165 / 89.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6500 / 14330 | 100 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 4 Seconds | 162 / 261 / 141 | 350 / 400 | Twin turboshaft engines, 4-bladed rotor | Middle/Rear | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
| Damage (per shot) [?] |
Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) [?] |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 (24) 200 (direct) |
0.25 (240 RPM) | 200 / 656.2 | 750 | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Explosive | 240 RPM | 200 / 656.2 | Unlimited | N/A | N/A |
 |
Damage | 30% | |||
| Fire Rate/Speed | 98% | ||||
| Accuracy | 10% | ||||
| Range | 65% | ||||
| Clip Size | 100% | ||||
| Damage (per shot) [?] |
Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) [?] |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (24) 22.5 |
0.05 (1200 RPM) | 500 / 1640.4 | 750 | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | 1200 RPM | 500 / 1640.4 | Unlimited | N/A | N/A |
| |
Damage | 30% | |||
| Fire Rate/Speed | 60% | ||||
| Accuracy | 40% | ||||
| Range | 60% | ||||
| Clip Size | 50% | ||||
Rockstar Games Social Club
- Pre-2019 image missing front nose decals, as well as different side mounted weaponry
Modifications
Upon being converted into a personal aircraft, the Valkyrie can be repainted with a primary and a secondary color. The player cannot remove the random nose decal, although the player can request another Valkyrie through Pegasus until they find a version without any decals on. However, due to a bug, the decal will despawn from the vehicle once the player switches servers.
| Category | Modification |
|---|---|
| Respray | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Respray Colors |
| Remove | Remove Aircraft |
Gallery
Variants
Valkyrie MOD.0Grand Theft Auto Online |
 (Rear quarter view) |
Added in the Executives and Other Criminals update, a cannon-less variant named the Valkyrie MOD.0 is used in the Adversary Modes, Extraction. It is also featured numerous times during The Doomsday Heist. |
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay
Survivals
- Used by attacking enemies in the Kortz Survival and the Quarry Survival.
Heists
- A metallic black variant is stolen from Merryweather Security in Humane Raid - Valkyrie.
- Used in the heist finale The Humane Labs Raid. It is worth noting that this variant has armor plating taken from the previously acquired Insurgent LAPV, and therefore is capable of taking multiple direct rockets (around 5-6) before being destroyed. If damaged enough to smoke, it takes more time to keep flying before the power is interrupted, giving the crew more time to reach the destination.
Freemode Events
- Can appear as a Kill List or Kill List Competitive vehicle. In both cases, it will require another player to use the on-board weapons.
- May appear as a random vehicle in the Freemode Event Moving _target.
Supplies
- May appear during Resupply jobs for Gunrunning, specifically in a Merryweather Convoy. This one will use the nose gatling gun, unlike all others.
Special Cargo
- May appear as a transport vehicle during a Special Cargo Steal Mission involving shooting down a convoy of them to retrieve cargo.
Mobile Operations
- It is one of the enemy choppers during the Mobile Operations missions Half-track Bully and Work Dispute.
Doomsday Heist
- Setup: Escort ULP - Cliffford Mercenaries pursuit ULP using Valkyries, and the players operating the Chernobog must shoot them down to defend ULP and his Havok.
- Setup: Barrage - Valkyries appear as escort vehicles protecting the Cargobob carrying the Barrage.
Dispatch Services
- Dispatch II - Can be used as a getaway vehicle once the _target is killed. An enemy Valkyrie may also appear.
Cayo Perico
- Heist Prep: Unmarked Weapons - Appears as a _target the player must follow to the location of a Merryweather Security test site and the Avenger with the weapons.
- Upon securing the primary objective and escaping the compound, El Rubio will take off and search for the player in a Valkyrie.
Locations
- Available from Warstock Cache & Carry for $2,850,000 after The Humane Labs Raid heist is complete, and will be available through Pegasus Lifestyle Management.
- After the Cunning Stunts: Special Vehicle Circuit update, the vehicle is now available to players who have not completed the heist at the "full" cost of $3,790,500, with the previous price being kept as the vehicle's Trade Price for those who have completed the heist beforehand.
- In the enhanced version, it is classed as a Medium vehicle when stored in a Hangar.
Rewards
- Entering a Valkyrie gives the player a Sniper Rifle with 10 rounds.
Oversights
- When either the port or starboard gunner aim with the turrets, the barrels of the gun will spin and are able to shoot immediately upon spinning at full speed, while the front occupants will still hear a slight delay before the weapon's firing sound, even though the bullet trails are visible immediately.
- Even though the Valkyrie has a fenestron tail just like the Frogger:
- Running into the tail rotor while it is spinning will result in the player being wasted.
- The tail rotor can be damaged or destroyed by gunfire.
- The remote camera is actually located just in front of the nose, with the autocannon being static all the time. However, the same briefly moves when the copilot enters the vehicle or leaves the remote camera view.
- It appears that since the Doomsday Heist update, the Valkyrie will attack the players with the explosive cannon, making it difficult to take aim and shoot it, since it will also hover directly above the player, most notably seen in the bunker resupply mission involving a Merryweather convoy, where a Valkyrie will be escorting the convoy, flying above it. As soon as the player opens fire on the convoy, if they're on the ground, the Valkyrie will fly right above them and attack with everything it got; side miniguns like before, and now with the front explosive turret as well.
- The same issue is present on the Mobile Operations missions Half-track Bully and Work Dispute, where they may attack players as soon as they appear and gets within range. Even the Oppressors from the second one struggle to outrun the superior accuracy of the gunners, often with players being dismounted and easily killed.
Beta Content
- The Valkyrie's textures are named "Napalm". This is likely the beta name of the vehicle.[1]
- Napalm is a flammable liquid consisting of gasoline, commonly used in warfare. This is a clear reference to the UH-1 Iroquois' use during the Vietnam War, where Napalm was infamously used.
- "Napalm" is found in the original version of GTA V's handling data.
- Leftovers of Rockstar North's Agent found in the handling files of Max Payne 3 (under "Jimmy vehicles" section) reveals that a vehicle, also internally named
NAPALM, was also originally meant for Agent, along with other shared HD Universe vehicle models.[2]
Trivia
- A Valkyrie is a female entity in Norse mythology who chooses those who may die in battle and those who may live. Other vehicles in the series that are named after mythological creatures include the Banshee, Hydra, Titan, Daemon, Phoenix, Leviathan, Chimera, Kraken and the Cerberus.
- The name of the helicopter is also a reference to the beach attack sequence from Apocalypse Now, where a US Air Cavalry unit attacks a Vietcong village in mostly Bell UH-1 helicopters (the predecessor of the UH-1Y Venom on which the Valkyrie is based on) while they play Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries on their helicopter. The Buzzard's real-life counterpart also appears in the movie.
- Furthermore, the description refers to the Valkyrie as a "survivor from the 1960s war effort", and Humane Raid - Valkyrie's job image depicts a sand/tan Valkyrie flying through an ablaze backdrop, as reference to how the UH-1 Iroquois was widely used by the US Air Force and US Army during the Vietnam War.
See Also
- Valkyrie MOD.0 - Cannon-less variant.
- FH-1 Hunter - Another attack helicopter, which like the Valkyrie, has a co-pilot cannon, released as a continuation of the Smuggler's Run update for Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Annihilator - Another attack helicopter featured in Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes, and Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Annihilator Stealth - Stealth attack helicopter features in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of The Cayo Perico Heist update.
- Buzzard Attack Chopper - Another light attack helicopter featured in The Ballad of Gay Tony, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Savage - Another gunship attack helicopter featured in Grand Theft Auto Online as a part of the Heists update.
- Hunter - Another gunship attack helicopter featured in the 3D Universe.
- Sea Sparrow - Another light attack helicopter seen in the 3D universe and in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the After Hours update.
- Armadillo and Air Ambulance - Two emergency helicopters with a similar appearance, appearing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.