Counter-UAV

For the killstreak in Call of Duty: Black Ops, see Counter-Spy Plane.

The Counter-UAV is a multiplayer killstreak reward in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

After achieving a killstreak of four (or three if the perk Hardline is selected), the player can call in a Counter-UAV drone that will completely obscure the maps and minimaps of all enemies with static for 30 seconds. This effect is identical to that of the Scrambler perk at its closest range. As with either effect, any affected player that activates a killstreak reward that causes the full map to come up, such as an airstrike, will find that map and the player markers on it completely obscured as well. The Counter-UAV drone is identical to the UAV drone, and can likewise be destroyed in order to end its effect - it does, however, fly slightly higher than its Recon cousin. The Counter-UAV will (as its name may suggest) obscure enemy maps even while they have a UAV Recon drone active, even if the Recon drone is activated after the Counter-UAV. It is not available as a killstreak by default and must be unlocked. As with the UAV Recon killstreak, the player is awarded 100 XP upon its activation.

The emblem awarded for completing the challenge 'Interference III' for calling in 50 Counter-UAVs is shown to the right.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

The Counter-UAV returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as part of the Support Strike Package. It requires five points to acquire and lasts 23 seconds. The Counter-UAV functions identically to its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 incarnation. However, using Assassin Pro makes the player partially immune to the Counter UAV's effect. A player using said perk can still see flag/bomb markers,friendlies, unsurpressed enemy gunfire, etc., but any UAV that is called in will not do its "sweep" across the mini-map as normally seen.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

The Counter-UAV returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops II and requires a scorestreak of 600. It functions exactly the same as previous titles except that it does not completely render the minimap useless to enemies as this can still be used for navigation and is visually distinct from the UAV, meaning players can easily pick it out as a priority. Players using Hard Wired will be immune to the Counter-UAV effects.

Every kill teammates get while a Counter-UAV is airborne gives the user 10 assist points towards their next scorestreak.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

The Counter-UAV returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. When activated, the enemy minimaps are distorted by static. It can be shot down with a single rocket and has no countermeasures.

Call of Duty: Online

The Counter UAV returns for Call of Duty: Online unchanged from its counterpart in Modern Warfare 2, except in appearance. In Call of Duty: Online, the counter UAV always flies in the opposite direction of the UAV.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

"Emits a jamming signal that disables the enemy mini map."

— Scorestreak description.

The Counter UAV is a scorestreak featured in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. It is unlocked at level 24 and requires a streak of 600 points to earn. It is similar to its incarnation in Black Ops II, where instead of completely disabling the minimap it is instead heavily distorted, but enemies can still use the map to navigate. The Counter UAV is active for 30 seconds. Counter UAVs take only one rocket to shoot down, and come with no flares.

Variants

Roach (Rare): Remains active longer, but has lower health.
Eclipse (Legendary): Disables the enemy team's HUD in addition to completely disabling the minimap, similar to Advanced Warfare's System Hack.
Nova (Epic): Increased cost, but destroys all active enemy equipment and scorestreaks on entry.

Trivia

The drone becomes invulnerable the moment that its effect times out, so it cannot be destroyed for XP or challenges while it is flying away.
There is a challenge called "Sunblock" that the player completes if they call in three Counter-UAVs in a single match (in any game mode).
The Counter-UAV flies in the reverse direction (counter clockwise) of the UAV.

The effects of the Counter-UAV in Call of Duty: Black Ops II appears very different to those of previous games. It adds a digital pixelation to the minimap, which distorts it, and makes it not show the location of any enemy player; but allows the minimap to be partially visible for navigation. In the other games, the minimap is completely obstructed by static.