The war isn’t just waging on the ground in Battlefield V, there’s also combat going on in the skies on most maps. Planes are one of the vehicles in Battlefield V and they can provide support for the troops on the ground by dropping bombs, laying down suppressing fire, and more. Here’s how to get a plane in Battlefield V and how to fly it.
Any time that you are looking at the Overview Deployment map you can pick a plane if there’s one available for you to use. This means at the beginning of a match, or after you die, you can hop in a plane in Battlefield V and take to the skies. Just look for your Faction Icons on the Deployment Map. To left and right of these flags will be a gear icon (land vehicles) and a propeller icon (planes).
If planes are available for you to spawn into, this icon will be white with a number by it. If not it will be greyed out with a zero. You can then use the LB/L1 and RB/R1 buttons to select which plane you want to fly. In Battlefield V, not all planes are created equal. Some are built to target troops, tanks, and other ground targets. While others are designed for dog fighting with other small planes and taking out bombers. Each will have its own unique set of stats and will be unlocked at different ranks.
The controls for planes will start out inverted by default. You’ll be controlling the direction of the plane with the Right Thumbstick and the speed of the plane with the Left Thumbstick. In the inverted control scheme you will press up to go down and down to go up when it comes to directional controls. To go faster you will push up on the left thumbstick and down to slow down. Pressing the left thumbstick in the left or right direction will cause the plane to slightly move in that direction. To change the camera angle while in the plane you can click the right thumbstick. If any of these controls aren’t to your liking they can be customized in the options menu.
Shooting while flying is similar to when on the ground. You can zoom with the LT/L2 and fire with RT/R2. If your plane has multiple weapons you can switch them by pressing the Y/Triangle Button just like on the ground. Any equipment that you have on the plane can be toggled by pressing left and right on the d-pad.
How to Drop Bombs
To Drop Bombs in a plane you’ll need to have bombs on the plane. These can either come equipped by default in the case of a bomber plane, or you can add them via Specializations. Spawning into a plane you machine guns will be the default weapon so you’re going to need to press Y/Triangle to switch to your bombs. Dropping a bomb is going to take a couple of things. You’re going to need to get your bomber on a good line for the target and then you’re going to need to dial in that bomb drop by using the LT/L2 button. Doing this when having the bombs equipped will give you a view of what’s under the plane. When the crosshairs line-up, drop your bomb with the RT/R2 button for best results. Bombs can take out tanks, soldiers, other vehicles, fortifications and buildings. They can be incredibly deadly when used correctly.
Finally some other things you’ll need to know about flying. Your plane can only take a finite amount of damage. Take too much and it’ll explode. You can heal and repair your plane while in the air by pressing the LB/L1 button. You’ll repair the plane mid flight, but you’ll lose some mobility while you’re doing so. If things go bad and you can’t get your plane repaired, you can always jump out by pressing the X/Square button. Once you do you’ll need to press the Y/Triangle button to deploy your parachute.
To get the most out of your plane you’re going to want to level it up as it has a Specializations path, just like your guns for your soldier. You can unlock perks like more powerful guns, bombs, speed boosts, radar, and more. The Specialization path for each plane is different, but follows a similar four level structure to guns that can be reset once you’ve reached Rank 4.
