Battlefield 6 Season 4 Top Gun Collab & Air Combat: Confirmed vs Rumor

Battlefield 6 dropped its Season 4 Naval Warfare trailer yesterday, and buried at the end is a Top Gun tease that has the entire community buzzing. With Season 4 launching July 21, 2026, air combat finally arrives alongside naval warfare across the new Tsuru Reef map and the returning Wake Island. This guide covers what EA and DICE have actually confirmed about Season 4’s aviation, what the Top Gu

Season 4 marks the arrival of Naval Warfare in Battlefield 6, expanding the fight across land, air, and sea with new maps, vehicles, and gameplay systems. The air combat component revolves around jets operating over open water and island chains, a genre-defining experience the franchise hasn’t delivered at this scale since Battlefield 4. Four new vehicles arrive: the RCB-90 Patrol Boat, the 7.7m NSW RHIB, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, and the F/A-18 Hornet—the latter two confirmed as two-seaters. Aircraft carriers with operational flight decks function as mobile strategic bases with working runways for jets and landing pads for helicopters, fundamentally changing how air power deploys and operates. This is the first time Battlefield 6 has featured carrier-based aviation, bringing the franchise’s traditional three-domain warfare triangle to completion.

After roughly two minutes of in-game action, the trailer cuts to a recreation of footage from Top Gun, showing an F-14 preparing to take off. The footage is accompanied by a swell of Top Gun’s synth-heavy soundtrack and placed as the trailer’s concluding moment, suggesting an official tease for an actual collaboration—though what exactly that will entail remains to be seen. The iconic Top Gun Anthem plays in this ending segment, heavily suggesting Battlefield 6 has a Top Gun collab lined up, but the crossover has not been officially confirmed.

That is the extent of what EA and DICE have put on the record. The trailer deliberately recreates Top Gun imagery, uses the franchise’s music, and centers the F-14 Tomcat—the hero jet from the original film and Top Gun: Maverick. Top Gun has previously crossed over with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown and Microsoft Flight Simulator, so a Battlefield collaboration fits the pattern. Season 4 launches on July 21, meaning we will know the collaboration’s full scope within days. Until then, treat the Top Gun tease as exactly that—a tease, not a confirmed feature list.

Community data miners and Battlefield tracking accounts report the F/A-18 Super Hornet as a naval two-seater jet for NATO and the F-14 Tomcat as a naval two-seater jet for Pax Armata. Battlefield Bulletin on X confirmed Season 4 features the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet as two-seaters. This marks the first time Battlefield 6 has included multi-crew aircraft, a major shift from the single-pilot jets that have dominated the air since launch.

Two-seater jets typically split roles between a pilot handling flight and weapons deployment and a radar intercept officer (RIO) or weapons systems officer (WSO) managing targeting, countermeasures, and situational awareness. In Battlefield’s context, that likely translates to one player flying and firing missiles while the second player handles laser designation, spotting, and defensive systems. Squad coordination becomes essential—pilot and RIO need to communicate target priority, threats, and tactical positioning in real time. The jets will likely function as force multipliers for coordinated squads, less effective for solo players than traditional single-seat fighters.

The goal with Tsuru Reef is to deliver a Battlefield experience where Naval Warfare is not separate from the rest of the match—it is a part of how teams move, how fights develop, and how players create those unpredictable “only in Battlefield” moments. Air power plugs directly into that philosophy. Jets operating over open water face different tactical constraints than urban or desert maps—fewer buildings for cover, longer sightlines, and naval anti-air assets like the RCB-90’s missile systems.

The RCB-90 Patrol Boat features a cannon, missiles, guided torpedoes, and naval mines in the main seat, while the gunner operates a mortar armed with HE rounds, IR smoke shells, airburst shells, and more. That airburst capability is explicitly designed to counter low-flying aircraft, meaning jets cannot dominate the airspace unchallenged. Laser designation becomes critical—Recon players on boats or island positions can paint targets for jet-launched guided munitions, turning air-ground coordination into a tactical loop rather than parallel efforts. Players can move around the carrier and launch jets directly from the deck, using it as a spawn and staging point, so controlling carrier access becomes a secondary objective that shapes air superiority throughout the match.

Wake Island returns later in Season 4, reimagined for Battlefield 6. First introduced in Battlefield 1942, Wake Island has featured in various titles across different eras and now returns set in 2027 when the events of Battlefield 6 take place. The version stays true to the original’s structure—large-scale air and naval battles, tropical setting, the central strategic island as the contested objective—while integrating the new naval systems.

Both maps feature operational aircraft carriers that function as mobile strategic bases with working flight decks, though it is still unclear how these will function in-game—they likely serve as starting spawn points, as they have in previous Battlefield titles. Wake Island’s asymmetric structure—one team defends the island, the other assaults it from sea—is fundamentally different from the symmetrical flag-cap maps that make up most of Battlefield 6’s current pool. Jets launching from carriers to support beach assaults or defend the central island objective is the quintessential Battlefield moment the franchise has not delivered since Battlefield 4, and it is the entire reason Wake Island carries the legacy it does.

The creators of Battlefield 6 are already accepting pre-orders for the fourth season’s battle pass, with bonuses promised for players who purchase before July 21. If you want the pilot gear on day one, expect to either pre-purchase the premium track or grind hard in the opening week. Seasonal challenges reset with each phase update, so missing the first phase means permanently missing some exclusive unlocks unless EA runs a catch-up event later.

Myth: The F-14 Tomcat and Top Gun Collab Are the Same Thing

The F-14 Tomcat is a confirmed vehicle arriving in Season 4. The Top Gun collaboration is a heavily teased but unconfirmed event or cosmetic partnership. The crossover has not been officially confirmed, so we will just have to wait and see. You can expect to fly the F-14 regardless of whether EA secures the Top Gun IP for skins, voiceovers, or themed challenges. Do not assume buying the battle pass guarantees Top Gun-branded content until EA releases the official reward list.

Myth: Two-Seater Jets Mean Pilot and RIO Roles Are Fully Simulated

The F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet are confirmed as two-seaters, but Battlefield 6 is an arcade shooter, not a flight simulator. Expect simplified crew roles—likely one player flies and fires, the second handles countermeasures and targeting—rather than DCS-level radar management. If you are hoping for full RIO simulation with intercept geometry and datalink, temper expectations until patch notes or gameplay footage clarifies the actual mechanics.

Myth: Wake Island Launches July 21 Alongside Tsuru Reef

Wake Island returns later in Season 4, not on launch day. Wake Island arrives later in Season 4, not at launch; the season opens with Tsuru Reef as the flagship, and the nostalgia bomb drops in a later phase. Plan your time accordingly—if you are waiting specifically for Wake Island’s carrier battles, you may be waiting several weeks into the season.

Laser designation has existed in Battlefield 6 since launch, but the combined-arms sandbox of Tsuru Reef and Wake Island elevates it from niche tactic to core gameplay loop. Recon players on boats, shorelines, or island vantage points can paint vehicles and static positions with laser designators. Jets equipped with laser-guided munitions—assuming the loadout system supports them—can then engage those targets from altitude or high speed, converting Recon spotting into precision strikes that would otherwise require multiple strafing runs.

The tactical equation flips when air and naval forces coordinate through voice. A squad with one player in a jet, one in the RCB-90, and two on foot can synchronize strikes in ways that solo queue cannot replicate. The RCB-90 gunner uses IR smoke to cover the beach assault, the Recon player designates enemy armor, and the jet eliminates it before the boat reaches the shore. That sequence is mechanically possible in other Battlefield 6 modes, but the open sightlines and lack of urban cover on naval maps make it essential rather than optional.