Two new air-combat modes, two new two-seat fighter jets, and a rebuilt classic map headline the biggest content drop of Season 4.
EA and Battlefield Studios confirmed Game Update 1.4.2.0 for Battlefield 6 and REDSEC, landing August 18 at 08:00 UTC with content unlocking at 12:00 UTC the same day. The update is built around a licensed crossover with Top Gun: Maverick, and it's a genuinely mechanical update rather than a cosmetic-only tie-in.
The headline piece is Wake Island, rebuilt from the ground up around naval combat, with both teams spawning aboard aircraft carriers that serve as their headquarters. Two new modes ship alongside it: Top Gun: Carrier Strike has teams capture sectors across the island to open a path toward disabling and eventually boarding the enemy carrier, ending in close-quarters infantry combat inside the hull. Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep is a REDSEC-exclusive, jets-only aerial mode built around shooting down enemy aircraft and destroying supply stockpiles.
Be the best of the best ✈️ Take to the skies in Season 4's Top Gun with new two-seat fighter jets, Carrier Strike, Gauntlet: Fighter Sweep, and the legendary return of Wake Island. Suit up. Play for free August 18.
— Battlefield (@Battlefield) August 13, 2026
Post via @Battlefield on X
Pilots get two new two-seat fighter jets designed for a pilot and gunner working together: the F/A-81F Super Spectre and the F-74A Seacat. Snipers get the Interdictor, a new suppressed rifle. Tsuru Reef also picks up functional aircraft carriers as new mobile spawn points, and Fort Lyndon's battle royale map adds a Crashed Carrier point of interest, USS Grant.
Three Top Gun: Maverick characters join as fully voiced, playable soldiers, led by Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw. Executive Producer Ryan McArthur called the update part of "Battlefield 6's biggest season yet."
Battlefield 6 runs a free trial week from August 18-25 alongside the update, so this is a good window to get a squad in without everyone owning the base game yet.