Valkyrie

"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-i-ree) is a military transport helicopter featured in Grand Theft Auto Online, as part of the Heists Update.

Design
The helicopter 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 212/412 and it features a Fenestron tail rotor from a Eurocopter Dauphin. The helicopter lacks side doors, though the auxiliary ones are still present (where the number 23 is seen).

The helicopter features two side miniguns that are usable by passengers, as well as an explosive ammo-firing quad-barrel cannon used by the copilot.

By default, it comes in a dark green color with black nose and features one of three decals on the same nose; U.S. Army and "N-LS5513" decals are also found on the side of the helicopter. It is operated by Merryweather Security and the United States Army.
 * a white spade
 * a woman with the caption "Miss Zancudo"
 * the woman bending over with the caption "Come & take it"

Performance
The Valkyrie has average speed, comparable to the Swift or Frogger. It is quite maneuverable and is capable of turning quickly, which is useful in dogfights when the Valkyrie's gunners need to aim.

The two miniguns to the Valkyrie's sides have a fast firing speed and are capable of destroying a weak helicopter within a few seconds of sustained fire. They also feature a very wide turning and elevation radius, being able to fire almost directly forward or backwards, albeit having poor gun depression. The front gun manned by the co-pilot fires explosive rounds, though at a lesser rate of fire - a compromise remedied by the gun's powerful destructive capability. The pilot cannot control any of the crew-operated weapons, but with a well-coordinated team, the Valkyrie still poses a considerable threat to any ground or air units.

When the front gunner starts using the minigun, the game displays a camera view, similar to the Buzzard and the Annihilator. At this state, the gunner can aim where he needs to shoot and can devastate vehicles and other players, thanks to its explosive ammo and range. The pilot can also see the camera view when used, in order to verify the gunner's targets or locate enemies.

As a compromise for its considerable armament, the Valkyrie suffers from very thin armor. It will begin to smoke after very few small-arms rounds to any part of its chassis and can be brought down by Police Mavericks and their gunners in a matter of minutes. As with most helicopters, it will be instantly destroyed by a single grenade, bomb or rocket.

If there is only one player on the passenger seat, that player can press right on the D-Pad to switch between the left or right minigun. This makes the passenger on the back much more useful in case an enemy trying to attack the Valkyrie is trying to flank to avoid taking damage from the minigun.

It is worth noting that the Valkyrie used in the The Humane Labs Raid 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. This armor, however, is not present on the purchased variant, and it will go down with one hit from a rocket.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Available from Warstock Cache & Carry for $2,850,000.
 * Delivered by Pegasus Lifestyle Management.

Trivia

 * The name of the helicopter is 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 listening to Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
 * The Valkyries referred to in the Wagner opera are female warriors that guide the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla, hall of the gods and the Nordic equivalent of heaven.
 * Furthermore, the description refers to the Valkyrie as a "survivor from the 1960s war effort", as reference to how the UH-1 Iroquois was largely used by the US Air Force during the Vietnam War.