Key Highlights:
- Battlefield 6’s Top Gun update launches on 18 August, adding the 32v32 Carrier Strike mode alongside two new two-seat fighter jets.
- Carrier Strike uses five missile batteries that attack enemy carriers every 15 seconds, with carriers entering a critical state at 50% health.
- Battlefield 6 will also receive a free trial from 18–25 August, while REDSEC gets the 12-player Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep aerial mode.
Battlefield 6 has received a new cinematic trailer for its Top Gun crossover ahead of the update’s launch on 18 August. EA has also detailed exactly how Carrier Strike and Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep will work when the collaboration arrives.
Top Gun: Carrier Strike will be a 32v32 multiplayer mode with a single 30-minute round. Each team must destroy the opposing aircraft carrier either by reducing its health to zero or detonating the M-COM stations inside it. If time expires first, the carrier with the most remaining health wins.
The mode combines infantry, naval vehicles and aircraft rather than functioning as a dedicated dogfighting playlist. Its structure evolves ideas from Battlefield 4’s Carrier Assault and Battlefield 2142’s Titan mode, but Battlefield Studios has added direct carrier damage and additional vehicle involvement.
Five Strategic Surface-to-Surface Missile batteries are positioned around the map. Captured batteries automatically fire at the enemy carrier every 15 seconds, while taking control of a battery resets its firing cooldown. Holding the majority of the missile sites also activates automatic anti-air emplacements for the controlling team.
Players do not have to rely entirely on those missiles. Jet bombs, explosives, tank ammunition and shoulder-fired launchers can directly damage enemy carriers. EA says a successful jet-bomb strike deals as much damage as a missile fired from one of the strategic batteries.
Once a carrier falls to 50% health, it enters a critical state. An explosion opens access to its interior M-COM objective from the water. Destroying the first M-COM opens blast doors leading towards a second objective in the reactor room, and destroying both immediately ends the match regardless of the carrier’s remaining health.
I think that layered win condition is considerably more interesting than the crossover branding itself, because Carrier Strike gives infantry, pilots and naval crews separate ways to influence the same objective instead of reducing the event to another themed limited-time playlist.
The Top Gun update also introduces two new two-seat aircraft, the F/A-81F Super Spectre and F-74A Seacat. The Super Spectre is designed around two-player combat, while the Seacat uses swing wings that adapt during flight.
The new cinematic trailer arrives only days after Battlefield 6 revealed its Wake Island gameplay and wider Top Gun battle plan. Wake Island returns on 18 August with carrier-based headquarters and a greater emphasis on naval warfare, land vehicles and aircraft.
Top Gun also extends into Battlefield REDSEC through Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, but that mode follows very different rules.
Fighter Sweep consists of six two-player squads, creating a 12-player aerial battle over Tsuru Reef. Each match lasts 10 minutes, with squads attempting to reach 1,000 points or finish with the highest total before the timer expires. Points are doubled during the final minute.
Players spawn directly into either the Seacat or Super Spectre rather than deploying on foot. The squad leader pilots by default, while the second player acts as the Weapons Systems Officer and can target threats beside and behind the aircraft.
Destroying an enemy jet awards 50 points, while destroying neutral drone stockpiles positioned below awards 15. Deliberately crashing a jet has the opposite effect, awarding four points to every rival squad.
Fighter Sweep also introduces functional cloud cover. Aircraft can fly and fire through clouds, but entering them removes spotting and can interrupt an enemy missile lock. Battlefield Studios designed the feature to give pilots another defensive option when their flares are unavailable.
Simplified Jet Controls are being introduced alongside the event to make aerial combat easier for inexperienced pilots. Principal Game Designer Greg Black said Fighter Sweep was intentionally built as a place where players could learn dogfighting without immediately facing the pressure found in Conquest or Escalation.
The wider Top Gun event also brings the Interdictor sniper rifle, which EA describes as Battlefield 6’s longest-range sniper rifle. It will be unlockable through the limited-time event and is specifically capable of targeting pilots inside aircraft cockpits.
Players who do not own Battlefield 6 will have an opportunity to try the update. EA is running a Battlefield 6 free trial from 18–25 August through the Battlefield REDSEC client. No Battlefield 6 purchase is required during the trial period, and progression earned during the week is retained afterwards.
The trial includes Carrier Strike alongside Conquest, Breakthrough, Escalation and Casual Breakthrough. Four maps are included: Wake Island, Tsuru Reef, Cairo Bazaar and Hagental Base.
Top Gun launches for Battlefield 6 and REDSEC on 18 August 2026. Battlefield 6 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
