Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches with 17 Killstreaks. You earn them in Multiplayer by chaining kills, but first you have to unlock each one by raising your Player Level. Three are ready once Create-a-Class opens. The last one appears at the level cap. Kill costs come in five tiers, from 4 to 12.
Quick answer: Killstreaks unlock by Player Level, from Level 4 (UAV, Artillery Beacon, Attack Helicopter) up to Level 55 (Air Lockdown). Each one costs 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 kills in Multiplayer.
Modern Warfare 4 Killstreak unlock levels and kill costs
The table follows the order in which the Killstreaks unlock. The kill requirement is the number of kills you need in one life to call the Killstreak in a Multiplayer match.
| Killstreak | Player Level | Kills (MP) |
|---|---|---|
| UAV | 4 | 4 |
| Artillery Beacon | 4 | 6 |
| Attack Helicopter | 4 | 10 |
| Bomb Glider | 6 | 4 |
| Care Package | 9 | 4 |
| Impact Warhead | 12 | 4 |
| Wheelson | 16 | 8 |
| Crossfire | 20 | 6 |
| Missile Salvo | 24 | 8 |
| Combat Drone | 26 | 6 |
| Counter UAV | 31 | 6 |
| Deathstalker | 35 | 10 |
| Railgun Sentry | 38 | 8 |
| Advanced UAV | 40 | 10 |
| Argonaut | 45 | 10 |
| Gunship | 51 | 12 |
| Air Lockdown | 55 | 12 |
Unlocks are spread out, and they don’t follow kill cost. Wheelson at 8 kills unlocks at Level 16, well before the 6-kill Counter UAV at Level 31. The 12-kill tier comes last. Gunship unlocks at Level 51, and Air Lockdown arrives at Level 55, the final Multiplayer level, alongside the Cronen Squall assault rifle.
What each Killstreak does, by kill tier
4 kills
- UAV: shows enemy locations on the minimap.
- Bomb Glider: a glider you fly by hand that carries an explosive payload.
- Care Package: drops a crate with a random Killstreak at your location.
- Impact Warhead: an explosive that drills down through several floors.
6 kills
- Artillery Beacon: heat-seeking missiles that home in on a beacon you throw.
- Crossfire: two airstrikes that hit an area from opposite directions.
- Combat Drone: an anti-personnel drone you control remotely.
- Counter UAV: scrambles every enemy minimap.
8 kills
- Wheelson: an AI vehicle that hunts nearby enemies or guards the area around you.
- Missile Salvo: an airborne unit that launches missiles tracking selected targets.
- Railgun Sentry: a placeable, self-operating turret that launches tungsten flechette rounds at hypersonic speeds.
10 kills
- Attack Helicopter: a helicopter that circles overhead and tracks targets.
- Deathstalker: a remote-controlled helicopter with twin turrets that can overheat.
- Advanced UAV: shows the directions enemies face on your minimap live and cannot be targeted with lock-on weapons.
- Argonaut: provides heavy assault armor, a pump-action launcher for cluster grenades, and a sidearm that fires in bursts.
12 kills
- Gunship: a heavy gunship armed with 105mm, 40mm, and 25mm cannons.
- Air Lockdown: a series of bombing runs, plus extra anti-air cover while it’s active.
How Player Level unlocks Killstreaks
Multiplayer progression runs across 55 Player Levels, from Private I to Commander, and every level unlocks at least one item. For the first three levels you can only use default loadouts. Create-a-Class opens at Level 4. That’s why the UAV, Artillery Beacon, and Attack Helicopter are listed at Level 4, even though they count as starting Killstreaks.
You can earn Player XP in more than one mode:
- Multiplayer XP counts toward your 1–55 Player Level.
- DMZ XP also counts toward your 1–55 Player Level.
- Multiplayer XP does not count toward your separate 70-level DMZ track.
- Warzone XP will count toward your Player Level once Season 1 brings Modern Warfare 4 into Warzone.
Progress from the Open Beta did not carry over. Your Player Level and every Killstreak unlock start again from zero in the full game, which launches on October 23, 2026.
Kill requirement rules: Loadout slots, Hardline, and the Tactical Nuke
You can equip three Killstreaks per loadout, and each one has to come from a different kill tier. Your Killstreaks are saved as part of each Create-a-Class loadout. You can set them for one class or apply the same three to all your classes. Your kill count resets to zero when you die, so the 10- and 12-kill tiers depend on staying alive as much as on aim.
The Hardline perk, available from Level 4, lowers the cost of every Killstreak by one kill. With Hardline, a UAV needs 3 kills and a Gunship needs 11. The Open Beta used those lower costs (3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) as standard. The launch costs are one kill higher in every tier. Activision also describes the system as Smartstreaks, which reward objective play alongside kills. Kills still do most of the work.
The Tactical Nuke is separate from the 17 standard Killstreaks. It needs 30 kills without dying. Calling it in ends the match immediately and gives your team the win. Kills scored by your other Killstreaks don’t count toward the 30, so you have to get every one with your gun or your equipment.
DMZ Killstreak unlocks
DMZ does not use kill costs. Instead, you find Killstreaks during matches or buy them, and only five appear on the DMZ level track. They unlock by your DMZ level, not your Multiplayer Player Level.
| Killstreak | DMZ Level | Unlock type |
|---|---|---|
| UAV | 13 | Epic Fire Support |
| Care Package | 28 | Recipe |
| Combat Drone | 59 | Epic Fire Support |
| Advanced UAV | 65 | Epic Fire Support |
| Crossfire | 66 | Fire Support |
The other 12 Killstreaks have no DMZ unlock level.
How to check that a Killstreak is unlocked
Go to Career → Progression → MP Level Unlocks in the menu. It lists every unlock on the 1–55 track and shows how far you’ve progressed. Once you reach a Killstreak’s level, it appears there as unlocked. You’ll also be able to select it in the Killstreak slots when you edit a loadout in Create-a-Class. During a match, the Killstreak becomes available to call in once you hit its kill count, or one kill sooner if you’re running Hardline.
