Airboats are flat-bottomed watercraft driven by a large rear-mounted propeller fan, purpose-built for the shallow, debris-choked waterways of the Grassrivers region of Leonida. Rather than using an underwater propeller like a conventional boat, an airboat pushes itself across the surface with thrust from a caged aircraft-style fan mounted above the stern. That arrangement, combined with a hull that draws only a few inches of water, lets the vehicle glide over flooded grass, mud flats, reed beds, and sandbars that would instantly run an ordinary boat aground.
Airboats appear in both of the official Grand Theft Auto VI trailers released by Rockstar, and they are the defining mode of surface transport across the Everglades-inspired wetland that dominates southern Leonida. They are distinct enough from conventional hull-driven boats that they are treated as their own class of watercraft within the broader boats and watercraft lineup.
What is an Airboat
An airboat, sometimes called a fanboat or swamp boat, is a small, open watercraft built around three defining features:
A flat-bottomed aluminum or fiberglass hull with no keel, allowing it to sit on top of the water instead of cutting through it.
A large rear-mounted propeller fan, housed inside a protective metal cage, that drives the boat forward by pushing air backward rather than moving water.
A pair of vertical fins or rudders behind the fan that deflect the airflow left or right, giving the driver directional control without any underwater steering surface.
Because nothing protrudes below the waterline, an airboat can run across inches-deep water, wet grass, and even brief stretches of mud. In the Grand Theft Auto VI airboats shown in trailer footage, the driver and passengers sit on an elevated platform above the hull, with the fan cage rising directly behind them.
Appearances in Official Material
Airboats have been shown in three separate pieces of official Rockstar material:
Source | Scene |
|---|---|
Trailer 1 | Around the 0:19 mark, an airboat is shown cutting through the flooded grasslands of the Grassrivers. The shot is immediately followed by footage of alligators and a flamboyance of flamingos in the same region. |
Trailer 2 | Around the 2:18 mark, Jason Duval is shown piloting a Buzzard Attack Chopper in pursuit of an Airgator Airboat 09 fleeing across the Grassrivers. |
Rockstar screenshots | Official still images show an Airgator Airboat 09 being used for alligator hunting and freshwater fishing in the Grassriversconfirming recreational and sporting uses alongside pure traversal. |
Across those appearances, at least two distinct airboat models are visible. The first is a generic fanboat with a smaller, utilitarian footprint; the second, branded Airgator Airboat 09, is a larger recreational-style craft built around a raised seating deck. Rockstar has not published a complete roster of airboat variants, and more models may be added before or after launch.
Real-World Inspiration
The airboats in Grand Theft Auto VI draw heavily from real Florida Everglades designs. The generic airboat seen in Trailer 1 has been widely identified as Panther-inspired, referencing the Panther Airboat company that builds heavy-hull swamp craft in Cocoa, Florida. The recreational Airgator Airboat 09 resembles the models built by Diamondback Airboats, particularly the layouts sold for private sport fishing and hunting tourism.
Airboats are an everyday sight in southern Florida. Tourist operators use them to ferry visitors into the shallow sawgrass marshes of Everglades National Park, private hunters run them after gator and wild hog during season, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agents deploy them for law enforcement and search-and-rescue work where no other vehicle can operate. That same mix of tourism, hunting, and enforcement is reflected in the uses Rockstar has previewed for the vehicle in Leonida.
Role in Grassrivers Gameplay
The Grassrivers region is the most unique biome shown for Grand Theft Auto VI, a sprawling flooded interior of cypress stands, slow-moving channels, reed beds, and isolated stilt communities. Most of the surface water there is too shallow, too weed-choked, or too full of mud flats to support conventional hull-driven vessels. Airboats are the answer: purpose-built for exactly this kind of environment and historically the only practical way to cover distance across a true wet prairie.
In Rockstar's pre-release material, airboats are tied to several activity types:
Alligator hunting: Official screenshots depict players aboard an Airgator Airboat 09 engaged in alligator hunts, aligning with the widespread alligator encounters shown elsewhere in Trailer 1 and Trailer 2.
Freshwater fishing: The same craft are shown set up for fishing the slow-moving channels and interior ponds of the wetland.
Pursuit and escape missions: Trailer 2 explicitly positions an airboat as a fleeing target chased by Jason in a Buzzard Attack Chopper, suggesting scripted chase sequences through the swamp.
General traversal: Background shots show airboats covering ground in the deep interior of the Grassrivers, where no road network reaches.
Because the Grassrivers hosts the POACH wildlife organization and other rural factions, it is reasonable to expect airboats to appear on both sides of the law during missions set in the region. Exact performance values, damage models, and customization options have not been confirmed by Rockstar ahead of launch.
Distinction From Conventional Boats
Airboats are grouped separately from the rest of the boats and watercraft lineup for a few concrete reasons.
Feature | Airboat | Conventional Boat |
|---|---|---|
Propulsion | Caged rear-mounted aircraft-style fan pushing air | Submerged propeller or jet drive pushing water |
Hull | Flat-bottomed, no keel, glides on the surface | V-shaped or deep-V hull that cuts through waves |
Water depth needed | A few inches; can cross mud and wet grass | At least one to two feet of clear water |
Ideal environment | Swamps, sawgrass marshes, shallow backwaters | Open ocean, deep coastal water, large lakes |
Steering | Vertical rudders deflecting airflow behind the fan | Submerged rudder or vectored outboard motor |
The practical upshot is that airboats unlock areas of the map no dinghy, jetski, or speedboat can reach, while sacrificing the deep-water stability and top-end speed those craft offer out in open coastal water. Players who stick to the Vice City coastline may rarely see one; players who spend time in the Grassrivers interior will find them unavoidable.
Notes and Caveats
All airboat content on this page draws from Rockstar's two official trailers and released screenshots. No leaked or unofficial footage is referenced.
Performance figures such as top speed, acceleration, and turning radius will be confirmed once the game launches on November 19, 2026.
Whether airboats accept weapon mounts, armor upgrades, or visual customization in the single-player and online modes is not yet known.
Additional airboat variants beyond the generic Panther-style fanboat and the Airgator Airboat 09 may exist; Rockstar has not published a complete list.