Buzzard

"The ultimate party starter: light, maneuverable and armed with rockets and a high-caliber machine gun"

- TBoGT Official Website

The Nagasaki Buzzard is a small attack helicopter featured in The Ballad of Gay Tony with an additional unarmed variant in Grand Theft Auto V.

In a special report by Weazel News, the Buzzard is considered an illegal attack helicopter, but the LCPD won't really put an effort into stopping a Buzzard until it starts killing people.

The Ballad of Gay Tony
Similarly armed with machine guns as the Annihilator, as well as additionally featuring rocket pods, the Buzzard is evidently an AH-6 Little Bird, an attack variant of the MH-6 Little Bird light observation helicopter, which in turn is a military version of the OH-6 Cayuse and the MD 500C. It's important to note that the Buzzard has the old style tail stabilizer, characteristic of the MD-500C and its corresponding defender/AH/MH-6 counterparts.

As mentioned above, the Buzzard is based on a military class light attack helicopter. This makes it illegal, at least in Liberty City. It holds two people, and is equipped with two high-powered miniguns and rockets. Miniguns on the Buzzard are much more effective than those on the Annihilator - they have a much faster rate of fire, a narrower spread, and are fired both simultaneously, unlike the Annihilator which only fires one gun at a time. However, they do considerably less damage than the Annihilators guns. They also never overheat, which allows for continuous fire. The Buzzard's weakness is its bubble canopy and low bullet protection, which can prove dangerous to the pilot and passenger when faced with heavy weapons like the M249 or Explosive Shotgun.

According to in-game speech, the Buzzard that Luis Fernando Lopez intended to steal for Yusuf Amir was a prototype, meaning there is possibly only a single one in existence. The same stolen one was later repainted gold, by Yusuf - this difference would be first recognized during the mission Not So Fast where Luis must use it to land on the roof of the Libertonian. LCPD will call it a "black/gold helicopter," depending on which version Luis uses - the black one acquired by cheats or the gold one from Yusuf.

GTA V
"The Buzzard is a light, compact helicopter for military or millionaire use. With a 5-bladed main rotor and a top speed of 175mph, it's widely considered to be the best performing helicopter in its class. These hardly ever drop out of the sky like a stone. Helicopters are one of the safest ways to travel."

- Warstock Cache & Carry description, Buzzard Attack Chopper.

The Buzzard returns in GTA V, along with an unarmed variant, which is based on the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, itself an observation variant of the AH-6 that the attack variant is based on. These are now known as Buzzard Attack Chopper (Armed one, appeared in TBOGT), and Buzzard (the weaponless variant).

Sometime between 2008 and 2013, the US government mass produced the Buzzard (contracting it out to the company Nagasaki) and issued it to the FIB, NOOSE, IAA and Merryweather. The Buzzard looks and handles similarly to how it did in TBoGT, the attack version now features missiles which lock on to vehicles and some models have paired missle launchers instead of rocket nests. If a co-pilot is present in the passenger seat, they have the ability to aim the rockets from a from mounted camera. Both the machine guns and rockets cannot be used at the same time unlike in GTA IV. The missile lock on will tend to prioritise military targets over empty military vehicles. It can be purchased in the multiplayer for 1.75 million at the rank of 42 from Warstock Cache & Carry.

Armaments

 * Machine Guns — [[Image:XBox A.png|25px|A]] (Xbox 360) PS3 Cross.png or [[Image:PS3 R1.png|25px|R1]] (PS3) Left Shift (PC)
 * Rockets — [[Image:XBox X.png|25px|X]] (Xbox 360) PS3 Square.png or [[Image:PS3 L1.png|25px|L1]] (PS3) LMB (PC) (Note: The player should NOT use rockets at a low altitude with a sharp trajectory as the detonating rocket can destroy the helicopter and kill the player.

The Ballad of Gay Tony

 * Yusuf Amir gives his gold Buzzard to the player as a gift after completing the game. It will be then available at the helipad beside the golf club on the West River. It replaces the Swift there.
 * Can be spawned via cheat code, by dialing the number: 359-555-2899 (FLY-555-BUZZ).
 * A black one can be obtained without cheats. After destroying the boats in Sexy Time, land the black Buzzard on a road. Get into a car or bike, and drive away from it but keep the camera fixed on the Buzzard. After you have failed the mission, reverse and it will be there.
 * In multiplayer, there are multiple locations where Buzzards can be found:
 * The first two can be found at Francis International Airport on the helipads.
 * One can be found at the heliport in southern Algonquin.
 * One can be found at the helipad on the West River where the golden Buzzard is on singleplayer.
 * One can be found at the yacht (not removed in multiplayer) just south of Acter Industrial Park and east of Happiness Island.

GTA V

 * On top of the NOOSE building in Palomino Highlands.
 * The civilian version may spawn in South Los Santos, Rancho, Davis Avenue, or on top of the LSPD building next to the Towing Impound Lot.
 * Several spawn inside the military base.
 * Can be found on the LSPD Station in Mission Row, although once on the roof, the player will get a 3 star wanted level.
 * Can be spawned by using the cheat code on PlayStation- Circle, Circle, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle. On Xbox 360- B, B , LB , B , B, B, LB , LT , RB , Y , B , Y.

GTA Online

 * Spawns on numerous helipads at level 43 or higher.
 * Parked at Los Santos Naval Port.

Trivia

 * Logically, Yusuf's Buzzard must be gold painted, not gold plated, as the weight of the gold would make takeoffs very difficult, if not completely impossible.
 * Strangley enough, the logo on the armed Buzzards' sides look like the Imponte symbol, although the Buzzard isn't manufactured by Imponte.
 * The name "Buzzard" may be a reference to Buzzard 1, a named helicopter from the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mission Reuniting the Families.
 * Despite it being considered an illegal helicopter (Liberty City), flying it will not give the player a wanted level.
 * Firing the miniguns and rockets will not gain you a wanted level at all if no one is hurt in the process.
 * Firing a rocket at a Annihilator from a side will cut it in half, however they will not destroy an APC.
 * Firing a rocket at a low altitude (lower than about a person's height) may cause the Buzzard that you are in to be destroyed because of the rockets' firing system. Before a rocket takes flight, it is first dropped out of the container, then takes flight when the fuse lights itself. However, at ground level the fuse doesn't have enough time to ignite, thus making the rocket explode when it hits the ground.
 * When firing the miniguns at a vehicle, the driver may burst into flames even if the car is not on fire. (Same with Annihilator and the APC.)
 * In TBoGT's Multiplayer, the Buzzard's rocket fire can vary on rate of fire.
 * The Buzzard are the only helicopter in the HD Universe that has five blades.
 * The Buzzard, despite being a military vehicle, has a radio just like the Annihilator does. However it is turned off when entered.
 * Like the Annihilator, the tail section of the Buzzard can be torn off. However unlike the Annihilator if it is torn off, the Buzzard cannot sustain flight and will simply plummet toward the ground.
 * The miniguns cannot be fired while the cell phone is activated. If the player wants to fire the guns, they must hang up the phone.
 * The Buzzard is HIGHLY maneuverable because of its lightweight size and speed.
 * The Buzzard's rockets do not move faster than the Buzzard at top speed which makes it possible to have the Buzzard destroy itself using its own rocket without an obstacle detonating the rocket before the fuse triggers the explosion. If the rocket is fired parallel to the ground and the Buzzard moves in the same direction the rocket will detonate and right next to the Buzzard, destroying it.
 * Like the Annihilator, the Buzzard's mini-guns do not spin while being fired.
 * In Grand Theft Auto V, when doing a standard air race in the Buzzard, this weaponless variant is used.
 * In Grand Theft Auto V, the Buzzard seems to fire RPG shells, rather than its HYDRA-70 rockets fitted in the pods. This is best seen when you have the camera on cinematic view and having it on slow-motion by pressing R3, or by using the Slow-Motion cheat. The reason for this is unknown, but it is likely added in due to balancing reasons since the RPG is just as effective as the Buzzard's rockets.
 * The Buzzard is the fastest helicopter in Grand Theft Auto V, even though real-life counterparts for most of the other helicopters in the game are faster than the real life counterpart of the Buzzard.
 * In TBoGT, Standing on the Buzzard's rockets while turned off will cause Luis to trip even if nothing happened.
 * Although the Buzzard has lock on missiles, it is possible to dodge enemy incoming fire by strafing to the left or right.
 * Weaponless Buzzards appears often acting as a Police Maverick, near Franklin's Garage.

Notable owners

 * Abdul Amir
 * Frickie Van Hardenburg
 * Los Santos Police Department
 * Luis Lopez
 * Merryweather Security
 * Yusuf Amir
 * Military (GTA V)

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