How to beat the Helldivers 2 Gunships

Helldivers 2 Gunship exploding and shot down — (Image credit: Sony)

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Gunships explained
How to beat Gunships
How to destroy Gunship Facilities

Helldivers 2 Gunships are the Automaton's answer to aerial combat, with special factories that produce flying Gunships at a horrifying rate. Though slow, these gunships are heavily armored and have serious firepower, enough to make them stand out as a significant threat among the roster of enemies in Helldivers 2.

Still, they're by no means unbeatable. Heavy artillery and creative thinking will allow players to beat back the gunships as they approach, long enough to work out where to find the factory facility that they're coming from - and destroy it for good. If you want a hand on dealing with these horrors, here's how to beat the Automaton Gunships in Helldivers 2.

The Helldivers 2 Gunships explained

Helldivers 2 Gunships flying — (Image credit: Sony)

Helldivers 2 guides

Helldivers 2 meta builds
Helldivers 2 Troopers
Helldivers 2 on Xbox
Helldivers 2 Major Orders
Helldivers 2 Secondary Objectives

As one of the later enemy types to be added to Helldivers 2, the Automaton Gunships are a brutal aerial unit for the bots. They're almost the complete opposite of the Helldivers 2 Shriekers, moving slowly at a fixed altitude, raining laser fire and missile salvos at Helldivers on the ground. They're also heavily armored and can only be shot down without some of the best Helldivers 2 weapons.

Even if you shoot them down, they can keep coming thanks to a nearby Gunship Facility – a new type of Enemy Tactical Objective – that needs to be destroyed too. Overall, it means Gunships are a challenge to deal with, especially at the highest Helldivers 2 difficulties, where several of them can appear at once.

How to beat Gunships in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 aiming quasar cannon at gunship — (Image credit: Sony)

Due to the heavy armor on these Gunships, regular primary weapons aren't going to cut it, so you need to shoot them with a really big gun to down them in one or two shots. The Spear, Recoilless Rifle, Expendable Anti-Tank, and Railgun are all solid options, but the Quasar Cannon is by far the best option thanks to its power, infinite ammo, and lack of backpack requirements.

If you're completing a mission on a planet occupied by the Helldivers 2 Automatons, especially on Suicide Mission and above, at least two Helldivers should be packing one of the above weapons to deal with not only these Gunships, but also things like Helldivers 2 Annihilator Tanks and Hulks. If you want to stop Gunships meddling with your mission permanently, however, you'll need to obliterate the nearby Gunship Facility.

How to destroy the Gunship Facilities in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 Gunship facility exploding with hellbomb — (Image credit: Sony)

These massive ship-building towers should be easy to spot if you start getting attacked by Gunships, but they can only be taken down with a Hellbomb. Unlike many other bot structures which can be destroyed using some of the best Helldivers 2 Stratagems, such as the Orbital Laser and Eagle 500kg Bomb, Gunship Facilities really can only be destroyed by a Hellbomb.

Call one of these bombs in, ideally between the two towers in the facility, but before you detonate it, it is imperative that you clear the area of Automatons. Enemies always try to destroy a Hellbomb as soon as it gets armed, and Gunships are especially good at doing so since they can see over pretty much any cover you try and hide the bomb behind. Deal with all enemies first, then arm the Hellbomb when the skies are clear. After that, it's time to GTFO and carry on with the rest of your mission!

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