Aviation has been an integral pillar of the Grand Theft Auto sandbox experience since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), and Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) is widely expected to expand on this legacy. Although Rockstar Games has not released a definitive vehicle list, the two official trailers, the dedicated character pages on the GTA VI promotional website, and the wider corpus of community analysis confirm that helicopters, light aircraft and smuggling planes will form part of the playable Leonida sandbox (Rockstar Games, 2025; GTA Wiki, 2026a). This report synthesises trailer evidence, draws a comparison with Grand Theft Auto V's established aviation framework, and examines the smuggling-plane backstory of supporting character Brian Heder.
The first official trailer, released on 4 December 2023, contains multiple aviation cues consistent with a Florida-inspired setting. Wide aerial shots over the neon-lit Vice City skyline are framed in a manner consistent with a helicopter "flyover" camera, and clearly visible Coast-Guard-style and police helicopters appear during chase sequences in the Leonida Keys footage (Maruf, 2023; Purslow, 2023). The second trailer, released on 6 May 2025, broadens this picture: panning shots reveal civilian light aircraft on tarmacs, a beach-launched aerobatic plane trailing a banner, and law-enforcement rotorcraft hovering over Vice Beach (Collins and Richardson, 2025; Harte, 2025). Frame-by-frame breakdowns by IGN and GamesRadar+ catalogue at least one twin-engine private jet, a single-engine prop plane and what appears to be a Bell-style police helicopter, indicating that both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aviation will be drivable or, at minimum, prominent in-world (Purslow, 2023; Wilson, 2025).
Grand Theft Auto V (2013) shipped with one of the most expansive aviation rosters in the series, including the Buzzard attack helicopter, Cargobob, Maverick, Frogger, Titan transport plane, Cuban 800 smuggling plane, Lazer fighter jet and the Atomic Blimp, supported by Los Santos International Airport, Sandy Shores Airfield and the Fort Zancudo military base (GTA Wiki, 2026b). The 3D-era Vice City (2002) by contrast offered only the Skimmer seaplane, Sparrow, Hunter and a handful of others, constrained by the smaller map footprint. GTA VI's Leonida is reported to be the largest map in the franchise's history, encompassing Vice City, the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers (Everglades), Port Gellhorn and Mount Kalaga National Park (BBC News, 2025), which strongly suggests Rockstar will need an equivalent or larger fleet to keep traversal viable. Aviation analysts at GameSpot and GamesRadar+ expect returning chassis such as the Maverick, Frogger and Cuban 800, alongside new airframes tailored to coastal smuggling and hurricane-belt rescue operations (Wilson, 2025). Critically, GTA V's "Trevor Philips Industries" arc established smuggling-plane gameplay loops that the Leonida Keys setting appears engineered to expand, given the region's real-world association with cocaine cowboy lore.
Brian Heder is confirmed by Rockstar as a longtime drug runner in the Leonida Keys, the owner of "Brian's Boat Works & Marina" and the landlord who lets protagonist Jason Duval live rent-free in exchange for assistance with local shakedowns (Rockstar Games, 2025; GTA Wiki, 2026c). His character page on the official GTA VI website includes the direct quotation: "I hauled so much grass in that plane, I could make the state of Leonida levitate" (Rockstar Games, 2025). This single line is the clearest in-fiction confirmation to date that fixed-wing smuggling aircraft are part of the game's lore and probable mission structure, echoing the historical "square-grouper" marijuana airlifts that defined 1970s–1980s south Florida. The fact that Heder is described as belonging to "the golden age of smuggling in the Keys" (Rockstar Games, 2025) suggests cutscene flashbacks, vintage hangar locations, or missions involving derelict airstrips. Combined with trailer footage of swamp airboats, coastal radar towers and Coast Guard helicopters, Heder's plane history positions aviation as both a narrative device and a likely gameplay vertical in GTA VI (Collins and Richardson, 2025).
Trailer dissection, character documentation and comparative analysis against GTA V converge on the conclusion that Grand Theft Auto VI will feature a robust aviation system spanning civilian aircraft, police and Coast Guard helicopters, and narrative-driven smuggling planes anchored by Brian Heder's backstory. While Rockstar has yet to publish a comprehensive vehicle list, the combined evidence base supports the expectation that helicopters and aeroplanes will remain a defining traversal and mission pillar of the franchise.
BBC News (2025) What have we learned from Grand Theft Auto 6's second trailer? Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2grmrx4po (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Collins, R. and Richardson, T. (2025) 'What have we learned from Grand Theft Auto 6's second trailer?', BBC News, 6 May. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2grmrx4po (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
GTA Wiki (2026a) Grand Theft Auto VI. Available at: https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_VI (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
GTA Wiki (2026b) Vehicles in GTA V. Available at: https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Vehicles_in_GTA_V (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
GTA Wiki (2026c) Brian Heder. Available at: https://gta.fandom.com/wiki/Brian_Heder (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Harte, C. (2025) 'Rockstar Shows Off Six Major Areas Of Vice City In Grand Theft Auto VI', Game Informer, 6 May. Available at: https://www.gameinformer.com/2025/05/06/rockstar-shows-off-six-major-areas-of-vice-city-in-grand-theft-auto-vi (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Maruf, R. (2023) 'GTA 6 leak: Grand Theft Auto trailer reveals game's release date', CNN Business, 4 December. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/04/business/gta-6-trailer-release-leak/index.html (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Purslow, M. (2023) '99 Details From the GTA 6 Trailer', IGN, 6 December. Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/99-details-from-the-gta-6-trailer (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Rockstar Games (2025) Brian Heder — Grand Theft Auto VI. Available at: https://www.rockstargames.com/VI/brian (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Wilson, I. (2025) 'Every GTA 6 location revealed so far', GamesRadar+, 6 May. Available at: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/grand-theft-auto/gta-6-locations/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).