The Jobuilt P-996 LAZER is a military fighter jet featured in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is the second military jet available in the Grand Theft Auto series, the first being the Hydra in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Influence[]
The design of the P-996 LAZER is mainly derived from the F-16C Fighting Falcon, evidenced by the entire fuselage, from the nose to the rear, with the two rear downward vertical tail fins, cockpit (with side-mounted control stick), landing gears (main and nose) and wings. The air intake is also derived from the aforementioned aircraft, albeit split into two separate intakes, similar to a Eurofighter Typhoon. Its forward swinging canopy (with zig zag canopy detonation cord), twin vertical stabilizers and horizontal stabilizers are derived from the Lockheed Martin F-35 and X-35. Unlike the F-16, which has only one cannon mounted on the port side, the P-996 LAZER has dual cannons on each side, similar to fighter jets such as the F-20 Tigershark. The Lazer is depicted as carrier-capable, which could possibly be a homage to the Vought model 1600, the carrier-capable version of the F-16.
Design[]
The P-996 Lazer assumes a very aerodynamic design, where the frontal section consists of a sharp nose with an air data probe on the end, a long glass canopy that swings forward, and dual intakes below, while the lower area has a single hatch for the nose landing undercarriage. The middle section consists of large triangular-shaped wings with the corresponding ailerons on the rear, air brake flaps ahead of the ailerons, and large mounting pylons below and on the tips of the wings, while the lower area has dual hatches for the main landing undercarriage and what looks like an additional mounting pylon in the center, together with two external fuel tanks on the innermost wing pylons. The rear/tail area has triangular-shaped stabilators, large vertical stabilizers with a slightly angled position, and a single black jet turbine, while the lower area has small fins.
The interior of the jet has a rather compact flight instrument panel, using various dials and gauges around the lower area, a large console with numerous switches, and two control sticks on each side of the cockpit, which the character uses when piloting the jet. In the enhanced version, the jet uses a dedicated dial set, which is a derivative of the one used in helicopters such as the Maverick, the Police Maverick and the Annihilator, but adds green animated display screens around, the main dials in the center, and two "Gear Up/Down" displays on the right side.
The jet is only available in a light gray color with a subtle camouflage paint, similar to the two-tone ghost gray scheme worn by most naval fighters. It also bears safety warnings near the cockpit canopy and a registration code on the tips of the vertical stabilizers, including a larger 996 number. It uses a set of industrial wheels similar to the ones from trucks such as the Benson, the Mule and the Phantom.
In terms of armament, the P-996 is equipped with dual cannons on each side of the canopy, and six radar-guided missiles on both wings appearing to be modeled after the AIM-120 AMRAAM, a common air-to-air missile fitted on several fighter jets, including those that inspired the Lazer (although it uses smaller rockets derived from the RPG).
Performance[]
Vehicle[]
Being a fighter jet, the P-996 is an extremely fast aircraft with a top speed of 170 knots / 316 km/h while flying above 250 meters / 820 feet MSL and with the third highest acceleration (after the LF-22 Starling and the Besra). In addition to that, it has excellent maneuverability, and is extremely responsive and able to quickly pitch and roll; however, rudder handling is poor, as it takes 37.5 seconds to perform a horizontal loop by only yawing. Add to that a short take-off and landing distance and the P-996 is an ideal aircraft for traveling around San Andreas quickly and efficiently with little threat from opposing players, it also does not stall out during a vertical climb, whereas other aircraft will.
However, the P-996 can be lethal to the inexperienced. The fighter jet is sensitive to minor inputs to the ailerons and is very fragile, as the jet can be quickly disabled using a Minigun or a Heavy Sniper. The jet is very nose-heavy, and if the engines are not on the plane will quickly fall out of the sky, as the jet does not glide particularly well. It also frequently "wobbles" in flight due to turbulence and its small size, and thus requires minute corrections to its flight. On land, sharp turns can easily lean the jet to a side due to the narrow undercarriage setup, thus increasing the risk of the jet colliding with small obstacles and damaging it in the process.
By exiting the fighter jet mid-air, the player is ejected out of the cockpit just as pilots would be ejected in real fighter jets. They will be flung upwards considerably, preventing them from hitting the fuselage, unless at low speeds. However, the seat won't launch off the plane, and the player won't automatically earn a parachute unless he has one already, or the mission Predator has been completed.
The jet is powered by a single turbojet engine and is equipped with an afterburner, evidenced by the long trail left by the same turbine when applying full throttle. It emits a distinctive sound that becomes louder when the afterburner is active.
Armor[]
The P-996 is not as durable as every other airplane without armor upgrades, only being able to take two homing missiles or Heavy Sniper Mk II explosive rounds before being destroyed. A direct explosive hit to the plane's rear will usually blast away some of the P-996's control surfaces. While it is still possible to pilot the plane like this, the plane may lose the ability to maneuver along certain axes and the engine will usually have been damaged as well (indicated by the afterburner struggling to ignite or heavy smoke), and another hit to the plane will destroy the aircraft completely. The Railgun is also a major threat to the pilot, where a single shot can destroy it instantly.
The P-996 does not have any flares or other types of counter-measures against locked-on missiles that are fired at the jet, forcing the pilot to manually evade the missile.
Weaponry[]
- Cannon: the Lazer is equipped with dual explosive cannons that each gun is fired at 900 rounds per minute. Each round fired explodes on impact and damage inflicted is on par with a missile fired from the Homing Launcher, which are extremely powerful and effective against most targets, being able to easily finish off an enemy with a single well-aimed burst, capable of destroying even heavily armored targets such as the Avenger, Mobile Operations Center, or the Insurgent Pick-Up Custom, with sustained fire. However, it has a limited range of 180 meters/597 feet, and explosive impacts will not be applied within the same one-meter radius spot for each 0.25 second frame.
- As of the San Andreas Mercenaries update, the Lazer and the other jets’ cannons fire rate and blast radius have been reduced. The fire rate is now 240 rounds per minute for each side and the blast radius has been reduced from five meters to two meters. Impacts do not have explosive delay on the same spot, and will set the ground on fire. Players will also survive the splash radius of the cannon, unless hit directly by one round.
- Missiles: The Lazer is also equipped with missiles, which can be fired with or without lock-on. These missiles have a lifespan of about ten seconds and are able to chase targets effectively, at the cost of sub par tracking, as they may miss the target. They have a lock-on range of 300 meters and have a maximum range of 1080 meters. Their projectile speed is 388.8 kph / 108 m/s / 210 knots. The missiles have a short "reload" time, where if two missiles are fired in quick succession, the pilot cannot fire another one until after a short four-second cooldown.
Overview[]
| 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 | 6.2 / 10 / 5.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8000 / 17637 | 65 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | 196.22 / 315.79 / 170.5 | N/A | Single turbojet engine w/ afterburner | Middle/Rear | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
| Damage (per shot) [?][?]GTA V PED HEALTH POINTS: Strong: 200 ; Average: 175 ; Weak: 150 ; Animal: 150 ; Armour: 200 ; Gull: 10 ; Fish: 10 ; Rat: 10 ; Shark: 200 |
Fire Rate [?][?]In the files, the millisecond is the thousandth number (0.001) | Range (m / ft) [?][?]Also measured in-game through GPS waypoint (GTA V) or other players in the map menu (GTA Online) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?][?]In the files, the millisecond is the thousandth number (0.001) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1515HitLimbs modifier (2424(multiplayer)) 500 (direct) |
0.04 (1500 RPM) | 180 / 590.5 | 750 | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | 1800 RPM | 180 / 590.5 | Unlimited | N/A | N/A |
 |
Damage | 30% 30% | |||
| Fire Rate/Speed | 98% 98% | ||||
| Accuracy | 10% 10% | ||||
| Range | 65% 65% | ||||
| Clip Size | 100% 100% | ||||
| Damage (per shot) [?][?]GTA V PED HEALTH POINTS: Strong: 200 ; Average: 175 ; Weak: 150 ; Animal: 150 ; Armour: 200 ; Gull: 10 ; Fish: 10 ; Rat: 10 ; Shark: 200 |
Fire Rate [?][?]In the files, the millisecond is the thousandth number (0.001) | Range (m / ft) [?][?]Also measured in-game through GPS waypoint (GTA V) or other players in the map menu (GTA Online) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?][?]In the files, the millisecond is the thousandth number (0.001) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 2 (30 RPM) | 300 / 984.2 (Lock-on & Weapon) | 1 (2020Projectile Ammo) | N/A | 2 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | 30 RPM | 300 / 984.2 (Lock-on) 1080 / 3543.3 (Weapon) |
6 missiles (unlimited) | N/A | 4 seconds (per launcher) |
|
Damage | 0% 0% | |||
| Fire Rate/Speed | 0% 0% | ||||
| Accuracy | 10% 10% | ||||
| Range | 100% 100% | ||||
| Clip Size | 1% 1% | ||||
Variants[]
| Image | Vehicle | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special variants | |||
 (Rear quarter view) The grounded prop P-996 Lazer in Grand Theft Auto Online. |
Grounded prop variant | Several unarmed, grounded variants of the P-996 Lazer can be found in the hangar of USS Luxington ATT-16. These variants lack the armory found on normal Lazers, and also sport synthetic covers over the rear jet and front intakes. These jets are merely solid props and cannot be accessed nor interacted with the player. | Appear in any mission featuring the USS Luxington, including Humane Raid - EMP and LSA Operation - Direct Action. |
Modifications[]
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Upon being converted into a personal aircraft, the P-996 LAZER can be repainted with a primary color for the main fuselage, tail and wings of the aircraft, while the secondary color applies to the nose of the fuselage and the tips of the fuel tanks. The camo livery will be also removed, causing it to have a more uniform color.
| Category | Modification |
|---|---|
| Respray | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Respray Colors |
| Remove | Remove Aircraft |
Gallery[]
Design[]
A P-996 LAZER inside a hangar at Fort Zancudo.
Michael De Santa in the P-996 Lazer in Grand Theft Auto V and Online.
A P-996 Lazer flying close to the Cargo Plane, during the mission Minor Turbulence.
A P-996 Lazer flying over Los Santos in the next generation version of Grand Theft Auto V.
Artwork of P-996 Lazers in a dogfight. Instead of two intakes, this one has only one. Also, it has a sniper pod under the intake, as well as F16-like tails. This makes the Lazer looks more like the F-16 Fighting Falcon, but still having twin stabilizers.
Trevor inside a P-996 LAZER in Grand Theft Auto V.
Promotional image of the P-996 Lazer in Grand Theft Auto Online.
A P-996 LAZER during the mission Effin' Lazers in Grand Theft Auto Online.
The P-996 LAZER on Warstock Cache & Carry.
Event week screenshot.
Discount on the P-996 LAZER for Independence Day 2025.
Video[]
Locations[]
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- Multiple parked in Fort Zancudo (large hangar, two small hangars, outside some closed large hangars, next to the runway etc.)
- Sometimes on the runway in Fort Zancudo.
- Sometimes flying around Fort Zancudo.
- Sometimes taxiing around Fort Zancudo.
- One can be commonly encountered flying in Raton Canyon. Can very rarely be found flying in groups of 3. It passes through every in-game half-an-hour, though it's almost impossible to hijack them.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Lazers will be located around Fort Zancudo in the same locations as Grand Theft Auto V.
- Lazers stolen from Fort Zancudo cannot be stored in the player's Hangar in the enhanced version, although owning a Hangar in Fort Zancudo would provide easy access to them at any time.
Enhanced version[]
- Can be purchased for $6,500,000 on Warstock Cache & Carry, after the P-996 LAZER Week event as part of the Smuggler's Run update. This enables the ability to store the vehicle in the hangar, though the only customization option is the color respray, similar to other aerial Pegasus vehicles.
- It is classed as a small aircraft.
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
Grand Theft Auto V[]
- Two P-996 Lazers with the call signs Eagle 1 & Eagle 2 are featured in the mission Minor Turbulence, where the US Air Force use them to chase Trevor Philips after he hijacks Merryweather's cargo plane. The two P-996 Lazers will also spawn early if Trevor flies directly over Fort Zancudo while following the Cargo Plane, and shoot his Duster down with air-to-air missiles, resulting in a mission failure.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Missions[]
- In Effin' Lazers the players must use two Lazers to destroy seven planes that are flying over San Andreas.
- In Base Invaders the players must infiltrate Fort Zancudo and destroy three Lazers in order to steal a Cargobob without being chased by the military.
Flight School[]
- The first lesson, Outside Loop, requires the players to complete two outside loops following the instructor's instructions with this plane. Its weaponry is disabled in the mission.
- It reappears during Follow Leader, whereas both you and your instructor will use this plane. The weaponry is again, disabled during the mission.
Freemode Events[]
- Lazers may spawn during Kill List and Kill List Competitive Freemode Events as Merryweather patrols.
Heists[]
- Infinite Lazers will try to shoot down the Pilot in The Prison Break until the land team broke Rashkovsky out of the prison. The Demolition must defend the Pilot by destroying the jets with a Buzzard Attack Chopper.
- In Humane Raid - EMP a fleet of Lazers will respond to the help request of USS Luxington ATT-16 and will chase and try to shoot down the player that is flying the Hydra. Also, other players can steal the Lazers parked on the aircraft carrier in order to defend the Hydra.
- Unarmed prop versions appear inside the aircraft carrier storage during the mission.
Mobile Operations[]
- Lazers appear in the Mobile Operations mission Cover Blown, as an attempt to destroy the crew's Mobile Operations Center. They do not seem to directly attack the vehicle, as these perform air strikes, in a similar manner to Merryweather jets the player calls for their own air strikes.
Air Freight Cargo[]
Used in some Air Freight Cargo missions as enemy reinforcement:
- Will appear flying in a holding pattern above a specific area of the map. The player is provided a P-45 Nokota to take out two waves of at least 10 Lazers before the Air Freight Cargo is dropped from one of the wreckages.
- Will appear in formation as support for three large all-black Cargo Planes, one of which containing cargo. The Lazers are again hostile towards the player once they attack the Cargo Plane. These Lazers are painted all-black.
- More all-black Lazers will pursue the player, alongside pairs of Buzzard Attack Choppers, back to the Hangar.
Adversary Modes[]
- Air Quota (vehicle list 1)
Agents of Sabotage[]
Rockstar Games Social Club[]
Oversights[]
- The nose gear wheel seems to slightly clip through the fuselage when the landing gears are up.
Specifications[]
Traffic Default Colors[]
| GTA V and Online | PrimaryPrimaryPrimary color (1) | SecondarySecondarySecondary color (2) | PearlescentPearlescentPearlescent color (3) | WheelsWheelsWheel/tertiary color (4) | TrimTrimTrim/quaternary color (5) | AccentAccentAccent/quinary color (6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121 Worn Off White (Worn) | 21 Worn Black (Worn) | 8 Metallic Stone Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) |
Trivia[]
- The P- prefix of the plane is possibly a reference to the older combat aircraft designation system of USAF where P- means "Pursuit", which was eventually replaced by today's F- for "Fighter".
- The AI-controlled Lazer has the ability to fire cannons in any direction, regardless of where the nose of the plane is aimed, just like AI-Controlled Buzzard Attack Choppers, having the ability to one shot the player.
- The AI can also hover in mid air at player-unobtainable slow speeds (even with the airbrake and landing gear deployed) and will sometimes strafe sideways when idle.
- 996 is the in-game police codename for an explosion. It appears to be a coincidence, as all the vehicle's weapons are explosives.
- The difficult handling is somewhat realistic since the Lazer's cockpit is directly copied from the F-16. And the F-16 controls do not feature a "one to one" input, i.e., for most fighters, if the pilot moves the stick one degree, the plane moves one degree in the inputted direction. The F-16's stick, however, can be only moved 17 degrees in any direction. This means the stick is highly sensitive, especially to any fighter pilots who got used to the "one to one" input from other fighters.
- The Lazer's nose heavy stance mirrors that of the F-16, which is one of the first "relaxed stability" fighters created. During the design phase, the fighter's designer purposely threw the wings some ten feet to the rear in order to increase the plane's maneuverability. This means without its fly-by-wire computerized controls, the plane's highly nose heavy design makes it very, very hard for the pilot to control.
- If a blacklight is shined over Fort Zancudo on the Collectors Edition map of the game, it mentions the P-996 Lazer along with the Titan and the Buzzard Attack Chopper.
- Lazers can sometimes be seen flying on patrol runs around Mount Chiliad. They will engage on the target if they are attacked.
- After patch 1.16, players now have the option to choose homing missiles or lock on.
- The P-996's jet turbine has the ability to project any nearby NPCs/players away, sometimes even killing them. This can also be done with the Hydra.
- As of the Smuggler's Run update, this is no longer possible with players.
- It is possible to take off the plane in backwards by going fast in reverse, then tilting down the jet's nose, making it do a flip, then engaging the thrusters while airborne.[5]
- The P-996 is carrier-capable, as it is seen on board the USS Luxington ATT-16 on the flight deck and in the hangar.
- If Agent 14's statement in Humane Raid - EMP is taken literally, the P-996 entered service sometime in the 2000s, as the Hydra is stated to be 1960s technology and the Lazer is said to be 40 years newer.
- The fact that the Lazer entered service in the early 2000s is another reference to the F-35, which entered service in 2006.
- If the player chooses to put aircraft helmets on, the player will equip a different targeting mode, which is more accurate, it also comes with a helmet-inclinometer. This mirrors the real life Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System (JHMCS) that is mounted on all F-16s, one of the planes the Lazer is modeled after. This system not only guides the jet's guided missiles, but also displays all the critical targeting and critical information system on the visor itself, vastly improving the targeting and the pilot's situation awareness. This is also present on armed helicopters as of the Heists update, and the Hydra.
- This is because armed, especially helicopter gunships also carry their own HOD, Heads Out Display, which again, displays all the necessary targeting and the helicopter's vital information onto the helmet visor itself.
- As of Patch 1.17:
- Players flying a Lazer will be indicated on the minimap by a special aircraft icon.
- The cannon aim is reset to a small dot, though the player can change it to a complex aim.
- The handling has been slightly smoothed, making it easier to control.
- The Lazer's description references the infamous technique of jumping into the base used by players in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online to reach and steal the Lazer. It also references the usual outcome of getting shot by a Rhino Tank in mid-air, usually in the process of boarding the plane.
- When ejecting from the plane, the canopy opens before the player is ejected. However, when looking at the canopy, black squiggly lines can be seen, which in reality are meant to be explosive coil that would detonate upon ejection to smash the glass, allowing the character to eject through the newly formed hole. This means that the ejection sequence is modeled after the F-16, the main inspiration for the Lazer and that the canopy detonation cord is mainly for show.
References[]
- ↑
Seen when parked or when another player is flying a P-996 LAZER.
- ↑ When requested from Pegasus.
- ↑ Only during Kill List and Kill List Competitive (formerly) as neutral/non-participant players.
- ↑ Seen during The Prison Break (Demolitions and Pilot only).
- ↑ YouTube
