Sea Sparrow

The Sea Sparrow is visible over Vice Beach in both Grand Theft Auto VI trailers released so far. It crosses the sky at 0:22 in the first trailer and appears again above the same beach area at 0:38 in the second. These brief trailer appearances place it in the Vice City region.

No GTA VI-specific equipment, performance figures, purchase method, or mission role has been shown alongside those sightings. The trailers confirm its presence and the Vice Beach location, while the more detailed information below comes from its GTA Online version.

Its basic form draws chiefly from the Sikorsky S-300 helicopter family, previously sold under the Hughes 300 and Schweizer 300 names. The Sea Sparrow retains a Bell 47-style tail arrangement, while its engine installation and central fuselage resemble those of the Aérospatiale Alouette II.

In GTA Online, the aircraft had a compact rounded cockpit, an open-looking framed tail, and floats set well out from the fuselage. The floats resembled the buoyant sections of the Dinghy, and its side steps echoed the Dodo. The cockpit used the Flyer instrument set in a layout comparable to the Buzzard and Buzzard Attack Chopper.

The GTA Online Sea Sparrow arrived during The Vespucci Job Week on April 17, 2018, as part of the Southern San Andreas Super Sport Series content. It was sold through Elitas Travel for $1,815,000, although purchase required ownership of a Hangar. The game categorized it as a Small vehicle within the helicopter class.

Its paint configuration assigned the main colour to the airframe and structural framing, with a second colour applied to the floats and the tail’s vertical fins. A purchased example came with a colour scheme recalling the Sea Sparrow from the 3D Universe; that scheme was separate from the vehicle’s normal traffic colour selections. Although described as an amphibious Sparrow derivative, the Online version differed in having a larger footprint because of its widely spaced floats.

The standard GTA Online aircraft carried no armament. Hangar customization allowed one pilot-controlled weapon beneath the cockpit: either a three-barrel .50-calibre minigun based on the GAU-19, or a four-tube missile launcher. Only one of these choices could be fitted at once.

The minigun matched the Havok’s weapon statistics: 30 base damage, a rate of 1,200 rounds per minute, and a 200-metre maximum reach. Its missiles had a 300-metre lock-on distance, remained airborne for five seconds, and could travel 540 metres. Homing shots tracked about as effectively as the Buzzard’s and could be evaded readily, whereas unguided firing sent missiles toward the centre of the aiming reticle.

Armor upgrades could improve survivability to as many as eighteen Heavy Sniper hits, but the helicopter could not survive an explosion. It lacked countermeasures. Its windows remained intact after gunfire or impacts, though rounds still passed through them and injured occupants. Damage eventually caused engine smoke; after two minutes and twenty seconds of smoking, the engine stopped.

A single turboshaft engine powered the Online model and used the usual sound associated with regular helicopters. Its behaviour was close to the Buzzard and Buzzard Attack Chopper: quick to maneuver and generally steady, though the Buzzard was slightly steadier. With full upgrades, the Sea Sparrow reached roughly 140 knots, compared with about 135 knots for the Buzzard. At maximum speed it tended to gain altitude, while the Buzzard tended to lose it.

The floats permitted water landings, but the light airframe could drift away after touching down, more readily than the heavier Dodo. A fast or abrupt water landing could overturn it, putting the rotor into the water and destroying the helicopter. On land, the float layout softened landings and helped on uneven ground, although it could slide on steep slopes. It appeared as optional transport in the High Society Leak finale if Ben Brooks’ helicopter was brought down before arrival, and as one possible croupier escape aircraft in Severance. Passive Mode was unavailable to its owner whether or not a weapon was installed.