MW4 Killstreaks: All 17 Streaks, Costs and Unlocks

Modern Warfare 4 launched with 17 Multiplayer killstreaks, from the UAV and Bomb Glider at the bottom of the ladder to the Gunship and Air Lockdown at the top, and for the first time in a Modern Warfare game you attach them to each individual loadout. Kills still drive your streak meter, but objective play now counts too, and there is an official disagreement on costs you should know about before you build your classes.

We checked this list against Infinity Ward's Create-a-Class launch post (October 19, 2026), the Beta, launch and Season 1 patch notes, and the Warzone Season 1 intel post, as of November 6, 2026.

How Streaks Work in MW4

Each Create-a-Class loadout carries its own attached killstreaks alongside its Operator, weapons, perks and equipment, so a sniper class and an SMG class can run completely different streak packages. You pick from 17 options that unlock between Player Level 4 and Level 55, so a fresh account starts with only the UAV, Artillery Beacon and Attack Helicopter.

The big change is what Infinity Ward calls the Smart Streak meter. A kill still counts as a point in every mode, but objective actions also add progress: the Beta notes give taking a Domination flag, holding a Hardpoint and planting the Data Spike in Hijack as examples. Infinity Ward says kills remain the primary driver; objective play is there so a player who spends a match on the flag is not shut out of streaks entirely. In practice, objective-heavy modes such as Domination, Hardpoint and Hijack are where support streaks like the UAV come around most often.

Every Killstreak, Cost and Unlock Level

This is the full launch list from Infinity Ward's Create-a-Class post, with the kill cost that post gives and the Player Level where each one unlocks. Read the note on costs directly after the table before you plan around these numbers.

MW4 Multiplayer killstreaks as listed in the official October 19, 2026 Create-a-Class post

Killstreak	Listed cost	Unlocks at	What it does
UAV	4	Level 4	Reveals enemies on the minimap
Bomb Glider	4	Level 6	Hand-flown glider with explosive payload
Care Package	4	Level 9	Random killstreak drop
Impact Warhead	4	Level 12	Payload that drills through floors
Artillery Beacon	6	Level 4	Heat-seeking missiles track the beacon
Crossfire	6	Level 20	Dual airstrikes from both directions
Combat Drone	6	Level 26	Remote anti-personnel drone
Counter UAV	6	Level 31	Scrambles enemy minimaps
Wheelson	8	Level 16	AI vehicle that hunts or guards
Missile Salvo	8	Level 24	Lock-on missile platform
Railgun Sentry	8	Level 38	Autonomous electromagnetic sentry
Attack Helicopter	10	Level 4	Overwatch helicopter
Deathstalker	10	Level 35	Remote helicopter with twin turrets
Advanced UAV	10	Level 40	Real-time enemy direction, immune to lock-on
Argonaut	10	Level 45	Heavy armor with grenade launcher
Gunship	12	Level 51	105mm, 40mm and 25mm cannons
Air Lockdown	12	Level 55	Bombing runs plus anti-air cover

The Cost Question: 4 Kills or 5?

Here is where the official sources disagree. The October 19 Create-a-Class post lists five cost tiers of 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 kills, with the UAV at 4. But during the Beta, Infinity Ward raised the base cost of every killstreak by one kill after Weekend 1 feedback about streak spam, and the launch patch notes say plainly that this increase "will remain for launch, meaning UAVs are 5 kills (or 4 kills with the Hardline perk equipped)."

If the launch notes are the final word, every cost in the table is one kill higher in-game: 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. We have not seen Infinity Ward reconcile the two posts, so the reliable approach is to read the number shown next to each streak in your own Create-a-Class menu. Either way, the Hardline perk (Perk 2, unlocked at Level 4) cuts every streak's cost by one, which on the launch-note numbers brings everything back to the 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 pattern.

Infinity Ward also tuned individual streaks between the Beta and launch. It reduced the radius and lethality of artillery strikes during the Beta, made the UAV easier to destroy, then raised UAV health from 100 to 150 for launch after players said it went down too easily. The Wheelson's pathing and targeting were reworked to be more aggressive. Season 1 adds fixes for tablet-controlled streak targeting in Combat Outpost and for targeting controls that could respond before the map appeared.

What You Can Run at Each Stage of Leveling

Create-a-Class itself opens at Player Level 4; before that you play with premade Default Loadouts. At Level 4 three streaks unlock together: the UAV, the Artillery Beacon and the Attack Helicopter, which already gives you a sensible low, middle and high package. From there the list fills in steadily rather than all at the end.

• Levels 6 to 16: Bomb Glider (6), Care Package (9), Impact Warhead (12) and Wheelson (16). The Bomb Glider is the first upgrade most players make, since it is cheap and you steer it yourself.
• Levels 20 to 31: Crossfire (20), Missile Salvo (24), Combat Drone (26) and Counter UAV (31). This is where team-support builds become possible.
• Levels 35 to 45: Deathstalker (35), Railgun Sentry (38), Advanced UAV (40) and Argonaut (45).
• Levels 51 and 55: Gunship and Air Lockdown, the two top-cost streaks.

On the Classic Prestige path you lose all of these and climb back each Prestige, which is why so many players spend tokens on late streaks. On the Regular path you keep them. Either way, plan your classes around the streaks you already own rather than the ones you are chasing, because a well-used Level 4 package earns more than an unreachable high-end one.

Perks and Counters That Shape Streaks

Several perks interact directly with killstreaks, on both sides of the fight:

• Hardline (Perk 2, Level 4): reduces every killstreak's cost by 1.
• Kill Chain (Perk 1, Level 48): kills made by your killstreaks award half streak points, so a good Wheelson or Combat Drone can help build toward the next one.
• Birdseye (Perk 2, Level 40): zooms out the minimap and makes your UAV and radar pings show which way enemies are facing.
• Combat Grid (Perk 3, Level 4): spots enemy equipment, Field Upgrades, killstreaks and vehicles through walls.
• Ghost (Perk 1, Level 24): hides you from enemy UAVs, portable radars, heartbeat sensors and callouts.
• Cold-Blooded (Perk 3, Level 36): hides you from AI targeting systems, thermal optics and recon drones, the main counter to automated streaks.

Kill Chain and Ghost both sit in the Perk 1 slot, so you cannot run them together. If you are Prestiging on the Classic path, perks like Kill Chain and Cold-Blooded are prime candidates for a token, which our Permanent Unlock guide explains.

Countering the other team's streaks is the flip side of all this. Air streaks are only as strong as the other team allows. The SAM Airburst Turret Field Upgrade (Level 8) is a portable missile turret for aerial threats, and the Trophy System (Level 14) destroys up to three airborne projectiles. Among launchers, the PILA is available at Level 4 and the JOKR at Level 43. The Signal 50 sniper has an aftermarket incendiary round modification that, per Infinity Ward, significantly increases vehicle and killstreak damage.

The Counter UAV at 6 listed kills is the cheapest way to take an enemy UAV off the board for your whole team, and Ghost keeps you off their minimap while it lasts. Against ground streaks like the Wheelson or Argonaut, launchers and lethal equipment such as Thermite, which deals heavy damage to vehicles and armored targets, are the practical answers.

Suggested Setups by Playstyle

These are our suggestions, not official recommendations, and they assume the in-game costs match the launch notes:

• Support player: UAV, Counter UAV and Advanced UAV. Pair with Hardline and Birdseye in objective modes where the Smart Streak meter fills steadily.
• Consistent slayer: Bomb Glider, Artillery Beacon and Missile Salvo, all reachable on a decent life without needing a huge streak.
• High-end hunter: UAV, Attack Helicopter and Gunship, where the low first streak protects you while you build. Gunship needs Level 51.
• Drop Zone specialist: keep your own streaks cheap. In this Season 1 mode, periodic airdrops land random killstreak packages inside the zone, so holding it pays out extra streaks anyway.

Drop Zone, Grind and the other playlists are covered in our guide to MW4 game modes. If you use a controller, the way aim assist behaves while you fight off streak-assisted pushes is covered in our MW4 aim assist explainer.

Killstreaks in Warzone Season 1

Warzone handles streaks differently. Since the Season 1 integration they are not part of your loadout; you find them as loot or buy them in a match. The Season 1 Warzone intel lists nine: the Aerial Scanner (Rally Point only), Artillery Beacon, Bomb Glider, Bombing Run, Combat Drone and Impact Warhead are new with MW4, while the Advanced UAV, CUAV and UAV return. The Warzone patch notes also add a new threat indicator that shows incoming lethal killstreaks on the minimap with directional markers.

PC players should note that none of this matters until the game lets you online; if you are stuck on the security check, our attestation error fix walks through TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot.

Getting the High-End Streaks Sooner

The streaks most people want, Gunship at Level 51 and Air Lockdown at 55, sit at the very end of the level track, and on the Classic Prestige path you climb back to them every time. The store's MW4 hub carries a Prestige boost that levels an account from 1 to 55 for each Prestige ordered, up to Prestige 10, on whichever path you choose, completed by hand on your own account.

The same hub sells Double XP codes in Account XP and Weapon XP versions, which you redeem yourself and use at your own pace, limited to one hour of each token type per day by Activision. For a broader look at XP sources, our older guide to leveling up fast in MW4 still applies.

Frequently Asked Questions