How to shoot down a reinforcement helicopter in MW3 Zombies

Modern Warfare 3 Zombies has an abundance of missions to work through, though some of the steps can be harder than others—including the task of shooting down a reinforcement helicopter.

These helicopters can take a significant amount of hits before going down and require you to focus your attention on them, leaving you vulnerable to attacks on the ground from Mercenaries or Zombies.

Thankfully, with a bit of work, it’s an easy challenge to complete and we’re here to help with tips to help you achieve your goal.

How to complete the Saboteur mission in MW3 Zombies

The Saboteur mission in MW3 Zombies focuses on defeating Mercenaries—specifically, those defending extractors during an Aether Extractor Contract. The full requirements are as follows:

• Complete an Aether Extractor Contract
• Kill 15 Mercenaries guarding Extractors
• Shoot down a reinforcement helicopter
• Exfil with the Uncommon Aether Tool Plans

Aether Extractor Contracts can be identified on the minimap by a blue symbol with a rocket and you are tasked with destroying three Extractors, all while fending off attacks from Mercenaries that have already spawned or those that arrive as reinforcements.

During the Contract, you need to kill 15 Mercenaries by any means necessary. You don’t need to worry about the “guarding” part of the challenge, as any Mercenary in the vicinity of an Aether Extractor counts towards the challenge.

Shooting down a reinforcement helicopter is the part that can take some doing, but we’ve got advice below, and the final step is to successfully exfil with the Uncommon Aether Tool Plans—which will drop after completion of the Contract.

How to shoot down a reinforcement helicopter

To shoot down a reinforcement helicopter in MW3 Zombies, you are going to need a powerful gun and plenty of ammunition. As such, I don’t advise immediately focusing on this challenge as soon as you spawn in, as you should get yourself prepared.

At a minimum, you’ll want two weapons with plenty of ammunition, and at least one of those weapons should be Pack-A-Punched to Level 1. Ideally, you should also increase the rarity of your weapon by using Aether Tools.

Once you’re set up, initiate an Aether Extractor Contract but don’t worry about the targets yet. Instead, keep your eyes on the sky and focus all your attention on the reinforcement helicopter that arrives.

Try to get your teammates to do the same, as it’s a lot quicker with assistance, and keep firing until the helicopter explodes. You’ll know you are getting close when smoke starts to appear around the helicopter, which shows it has sustained significant damage.

You should be able to destroy the helicopter relatively easily if you have completed the above steps but, if you’re struggling, grab an LMG to allow for continuous fire without reloading, or find a launcher to inflict significant damage.