WARDOGS Little Bird: the MH-6, AH-6M and AH-6R, every published price, and what the Season 2 nerf changed

The Season 02 notes name three variants in one line, under the new per-variant destroy rewards: 'MH-6 $3,125 → $1,250, Little Bird AH-6M [Miniguns] $6,000, Little Bird AH-6R [Rockets] $9,400.' That line is the only place the unarmed MH-6 and the rocket AH-6R appear by name. The AH-6M also appears in the Pilot-track and price-increase lists. The real-world naming holds: the MH-6 is the light transport and the AH-6 the attack version. The game's suffixes tell you the weapon.

So the job split is simple. The MH-6 carries people and supplies; the AH-6M is a gunship with miniguns; the AH-6R trades the miniguns for rockets and is the most expensive Little Bird to buy. The Supporter Pack on Steam includes a 'Littlebird Helicopter Taxi Camo', which is BULKHEAD's own nod to the transport role. Season 2 adds a Black & Gold Little Bird camo as a 'Season 2 Exclusive Gold Market Camo', and the Season 03 notes say it 'is carrying over 2 weeks from Season 2 to account for the shortened season length'.

The destroy reward is worth reading as a threat level. When an enemy shoots down an AH-6R, they collect $9,400, nearly eight times the $1,250 for an MH-6. The notes say armed variants also give 1.5 times the XP of the default variant. An armed Little Bird is a bigger prize, and every player with a launcher knows it.

Before launch, the armed Little Bird was cheap. The Season 1 changelog of 9 September 2026 lists 'Pilot, Little Bird with miniguns: $25,000 to $50,000', so the unlock doubled for launch. Season 2 raised it again to $125,000 and moved it from Pilot level 4 to level 8. From the last beta to Season 2, the one-time cost went up five times.

The price per purchase moved too. Season 2's 'Price Increases' list puts the AH-6M at $7,000 → $12,000 and the AH-6R at $12,500 → $18,800. The other armed helicopters went up with them, so this was a pass over all gunships. The Z20 Lakota [Miniguns] went from $8,000 to $15,000 and the Havoc from $18,000 to $28,000.

The chart puts both kinds of cost side by side. The unlock is paid once on the Pilot track; the purchase price is paid every time you take a helicopter out, so losing an AH-6M cost $12,000 in cash in Season 2 instead of $7,000, and $10,480 since Season 3. For a pilot who crashes often, that per-buy figure matters far more than the unlock.

Season 3 update (14 Nov 2026): the Season 03 patch notes reverse direction for the first time, with 'AH-6M Littlebird [Miniguns]: $12,000 → $10,480'. The Havoc drops too, from $28,000 to $26,000. BULKHEAD's reason: the attack helicopters 'now have extra rewards to incentivise dogfights' and kill streaks, 'but the upfront cost was still turning away a lot of pilots. These changes make each bad life for attack vehicles slightly more manageable.' The AH-6R's $18,800 and the AH-6M's $125,000 unlock are not listed as changed.

BULKHEAD gave one reason in the Pilot-track section: 'The Little Bird AH-6M [Miniguns] was too strong for how early it unlocked, so it now unlocks later and costs more.' That is the official answer to whether the Little Bird was overpowered. The developer agreed it was, for its level. The change mostly hits newer pilots. A level-4 pilot could field a gunship in Season 1 but must now reach level 8 and save $125,000.

Some of the other changes in update 0.2.0 were not aimed at the Little Bird but still hit it. Read together, they make the AH-6M more costly, a bit weaker at killing infantry, and easier to punish:

Season 3 update (14 Nov 2026): update 0.3.0 walks part of the nerf back. The Season 03 notes raise 'damage protection for the pilot and co-pilot in the MH-6, AH-6R and AH-6M Littlebirds', because 'Pilots and co-pilots were being shot out of their seats far more often than the Littlebird itself was being destroyed'. Vehicle-mounted miniguns get higher multipliers against infantry, 'between Season 1 and Season 2 levels' (head +50%, neck +78%, upper torso +64%, mid torso +55%, lower torso +50%, pelvis, arms and legs +56%). The AH-6R's rocket pods now fire 'their own 70mm rockets instead of sharing the Havoc's 122mm rockets', with unchanged damage but 'thrust instability and wobble in flight', which makes it 'slightly less effective against infantry'. The Vanguard CIWS now does 'slightly less damage' to all three Littlebirds. On the counter side, the Verba moved from Support level 14 to 8 so Support players get an anti-air option by the time the AH-6M comes online.

The 'Little Bird grenade launcher' searches point at a real Season 2 change, but it is not a weapon mounted on the helicopter. It is the MGL-40, a player-carried grenade launcher, fired by a passenger sitting on the Little Bird's outside bench. The Season 02 notes cut the MGL-40's muzzle velocity by 25% and add a stronger damage fall-off at the 40mm outer radius. The bench line reads: it 'experiences much more inaccuracy and sway, slower ADS speed, and a reload penalty when sitting on the Little Bird bench, to reduce reliability.' The MGL-40 also went up in price from $6,000 to $7,500.

That line, 'to reduce reliability', shows what BULKHEAD was fixing: a Little Bird with MGL-40 gunners on the bench. The notes say nothing about other weapons fired from the bench. Separately, 'explosives and placeables can no longer be used from enclosed vehicle seats'. The notes do not say whether the bench counts as enclosed, so we do not claim it either way.

Parachutes changed in the same update, and that matters to anyone jumping off a Little Bird. 'Parachutes now take longer to fully open, and won't open at all below about 10m.' Open below roughly 50 m while falling fast and 'you won't slow down in time and will take fall damage'. The Basic Parachute went from $100 to $500 and the Sport Parachute dropped from $1,000 to $700. Next to those lines BULKHEAD wrote one dry sentence: 'Make sure you trust a pilot before getting into their aircraft.' Season 3 update (14 Nov 2026): parachutes changed again. The Basic Parachute is now 'an emergency parachute, ideal for bailing out of helicopters', 'effective above about 100m', and costs $1,250 (was $500); the Sport Parachute costs $2,250 (was $700) and is 'Built for BASE jumps'. 'Helicopter passengers now see their height above the ground, above the minimap', to check against the parachute's effective height before jumping.

The MH-6 earns its keep through logistics, and Season 2 changed how logistics pays. Base rewards dropped, and new delivery streaks pay a bonus for each run in a row. BULKHEAD's stated reason was to reward 'return trips instead of abandoning their vehicles'. The notes were corrected after posting: the values now shown are 'the actual values players will receive when dropped in the Control Zone', not base design values. So these are Control Zone figures.

Some lines are for all vehicles and some only for ground or air vehicles. The table shows which. The ground-only lines are included so you can compare, because a truck and a helicopter are now paid differently for the same delivery. Deliveries by air get a lower XP rate for supply crates than the general crate rate.

Season 3 update (14 Nov 2026): the Season 03 notes add combat pay for armed Little Birds. They 'Re-added air vehicle kill streak rewards when killing enemy players', and 'Destroying a vehicle with your own vehicle within 1,000m of a control zone now earns the full control zone reward.' Going the other way, the 'spotted target killed reward' for an AH-6M or AH-6R falls from $1,000 to $850. 'Littlebird attack variants' repair locations are now reachable', and the 'MH-6 Littlebird body being unrepairable on its gun and rocket pod variants' was fixed.

The Z20 Lakota is the other light helicopter. In Season 1, BULKHEAD took the Little Bird and the Lakota in opposite directions: the armed Little Bird's unlock doubled to $50,000 while the Lakota dropped from $50,000 to $35,000. The same changelog lists a 'Z20 Lakota balance pass, and a fix for sluggish pitch' and lowers the Lakota chase-camera rattle by 6 dB. Season 2 then raised the price of all armed helicopters.

On the published numbers, the minigun Lakota is now cheaper to unlock than the minigun Little Bird, $85,000 against $125,000. It costs more per purchase, $15,000 against $10,480 since the Season 3 price cut. Since BULKHEAD publishes no handling or armour figures, prices and unlock levels are the only fair comparison. Players searching why the Lakota 'wobbles' or 'shakes' will not find an official answer beyond the Season 1 pitch fix and camera-rattle change. Our helicopter controls page covers the flight-assist settings.

Some common Little Bird questions have no official answer. We list them so you know what is missing, not so we can fill the gaps.