Helldivers 2's Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV) has grown from a single four-wheeled buggy into a small family of ground vehicles, and the question flooding r/Helldivers this week — "where do you get the FRV variants?" — doesn't have one simple answer. The base M-102 Gunner FRV is bought with Requisition Slips, the M-103 Supply FRV is about to become free for everyone in October 2026, and the M-104 Incinerator FRV isn't obtainable at all yet. This guide sorts out exactly what each variant is, how it unlocks, and which ones you can actually drive right now, verified against the current patch.
Quick answer: There are three functional FRV variants. The M-102 Gunner FRV (rear heavy machine gun) unlocks at player Level 25 for 25,000 Requisition Slips at the Patriotic Administration Center — not a Warbond. The M-103 Supply FRV (automated turret + resupply rack) was an Operation Census Thunder campaign reward and becomes permanently unlockable with Requisition Slips for all players in October 2026 — no Super Credits, no real money. The M-104 Incinerator FRV (flamethrower) was never awarded and has no release date yet. "Castellan's Green" is a separate cosmetic paint pattern from the Castellan's Creed Warbond, not a functional variant. All of this applies to the current released patch, Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.1 (September 24, 2026).
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Key takeaways
- Base vehicle: M-102 Gunner FRV — 25,000 Requisition Slips, Level 25, at the Patriotic Administration Center. It is not locked behind any Warbond or Super Credits.
- M-103 Supply FRV: turret + 8-charge supply rack; goes permanently free (Requisition Slips) in October 2026 for everyone who didn't earn it in the June campaign.
- M-104 Incinerator FRV: flamethrower variant; currently not obtainable, and Arrowhead hasn't detailed a re-release — don't chase it yet.
- Not the same as the TD-110 Maelstrom tank (patch 7.1.0), which is a separate heavy tank unlocked through the Armored Eagle Major Order, not a Superstore buy.
- "Variant" vs "pattern": functional variants change the FRV's weapon/role; cosmetic patterns (e.g. Castellan's Green) only change the paint.
What is the FRV in Helldivers 2?
The Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV) is Helldivers 2's fast, lightly-armored four-wheel ground transport — the one players nickname the "warthog" or "democracy buggy." It carries a full squad, lets passengers lean out and fire their personal weapons on the move, and is the quickest way to cross a large map objective-to-objective without burning Reinforcements to sprinting Chargers.
The base model is officially the M-102 Gunner FRV (the wiki notes it was formerly just labeled the "M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle," which is why older guides use that name). Its core stats, per helldivers.wiki.gg:
- Armament: a single rear-mounted MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun — 100-round belt, 4 spare mags that cannot be replenished mid-mission, firing at 600 RPM (the gunner can adjust the rate by holding Reload).
- Durability: 2,400 main health, Medium armor.
- Stratagem profile: 10.5-second call-in, 480-second cooldown (456 seconds with the Morale Augmentation booster), unlimited uses per mission.
Crucially, the FRV is not a Warbond item. That trips up a lot of new players who go hunting for it on a Warbond page. It lives on your Super Destroyer, bought with the currency you earn just by playing.
How do you unlock the base FRV (M-102 Gunner)?
You unlock the M-102 Gunner FRV at the Patriotic Administration Center, the Hangar-section terminal on your Super Destroyer, for 25,000 Requisition Slips. It is gated behind player Level 25, so you cannot buy it the moment you hit the Slip total if your level is lower.
A few things worth knowing before you grind toward it:
- Requisition Slips are earned, never bought. They come from Points of Interest, mission completion, the extraction bonus and Major Orders. You can't pay real money to skip this — there's no marketplace in Helldivers 2.
- 25,000 is a mid-to-late unlock. You'll naturally bank that much around the time you clear your core Stratagems and early Ship Modules, so most players unlock the FRV as a "second wave" purchase rather than an early one.
- The Requisition Slip cap is 50,000, so the FRV costs half a full bank. If you're floating near the cap, spend it — overflow Slips past 50,000 are wasted.
Once unlocked, the FRV appears in your Stratagem list and can be called into any mission.
What are the FRV variants, and how many are there?
There are three functional FRV variants in the game's data, each with a different role. This is where the confusion starts, because only one of the three is cleanly available to everyone right now.
M-102 Gunner FRV — the base model covered above. Rear MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun. Role: mobile fire support and squad taxi. Status: available now (25,000 Requisition Slips, Level 25).
M-103 Supply FRV — swaps the manned HMG for an automated AR-23P Liberator Penetrator turret (~120 rounds) and adds a rear supply rack that holds 8 resupply charges, effectively turning the buggy into a mobile ammo dump for your squad. It was added in the 1.006.300 patch on June 16, 2026 as a reward for the Operation Census Thunder campaign. Status: campaign-locked until October 2026 — see the next section.
M-104 Incinerator FRV — fits a spiked ramming grille and a roof-mounted heavy flamethrower (800 fuel), built to cook hordes of Terminids while you ram through them. It was tied to the same June campaign, but because its associated planet (Basquine VIII) was liberated before the one that would have unlocked it, it was never actually awarded — divers got the Supply FRV instead. Status: currently unavailable; Arrowhead has not detailed a re-release. Don't plan a loadout around it yet.
Separately, you'll see the term "variant" thrown around for cosmetic vehicle patterns — paint jobs that change how the FRV looks without changing what it does. The best-known is "Castellan's Green," which comes from the Castellan's Creed Legendary Warbond (the Helldivers 2 × Warhammer 40,000 crossover, 1,500 Super Credits, launched August 12, 2026) and also applies to your Exosuit, Shuttle and Hellpod. A paint pattern is not a functional variant — if someone's FRV looks different but shoots the same, that's a pattern.
When does the Supply FRV become available to everyone?
This is the live, timely part of the FRV story and the reason the question is spiking right now. The M-103 Supply FRV was originally a limited reward: only players who participated in the successful Operation Census Thunder campaign in June 2026 got a permanent permit for it. Everyone who missed that window has been locked out for months.
That's about to change. Arrowhead has confirmed the Supply FRV becomes permanently unlockable for all players in October 2026, bought with Requisition Slips — no Super Credits and no real-money purchase. Players who already earned it in June keep it and don't need to re-unlock anything.
As one r/Helldivers player summed up the current state of affairs when asked where to get the variants:
"Supply will be available at some point in October. AH said so."
Two honest caveats, because precision matters here:
- No exact date or price has been announced. Arrowhead confirmed the month and the currency (Requisition Slips), not the specific day or the Slip cost. Treat any site quoting an exact figure as guessing until Arrowhead posts it.
- This is the Supply FRV only. The Incinerator FRV is not part of the October rollout — it remains unavailable with no announced re-release. Don't conflate the two.
So if you've been waiting on the turret-and-resupply buggy, the answer is: bank your Requisition Slips now and watch the October patch notes.
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Is the FRV the same as the TD-110 Maelstrom tank?
No — and this is the single most common mix-up right now, because both are drivable vehicles that arrived in the same era. They are completely separate.
The TD-110 Maelstrom is a tracked heavy tank added in patch Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.0 (September 22, 2026). It seats four Helldivers (driver, gunner, two passengers), mounts twin triple-barrel rotary guns plus laser-guided missile pods, and is unlocked through the Operation Armored Eagle Major Order — a campaign-permit reward, not a Superstore purchase. If you want the full breakdown, see our TD-110 Maelstrom tank unlock and crew guide and whether you can still unlock the Maelstrom now.
The FRV, by contrast, is a light recon buggy unlocked with Requisition Slips (base model) or via campaign/October rollout (Supply). Different category, different unlock, different role — the FRV is about speed and mobility, the Maelstrom is about heavy firepower.
FRV variants at a glance
| Variant | Weapon / role | How to unlock | Status (as of patch 7.1.1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-102 Gunner FRV | Rear MG-206 Heavy MG; squad taxi | 25,000 Requisition Slips, Level 25 (Patriotic Administration Center) | ✅ Available now |
| M-103 Supply FRV | Automated Liberator Penetrator turret + 8 resupply charges | Census Thunder campaign (June); Requisition Slips for all in October 2026 | 🔶 Campaign-locked → free in Oct 2026 |
| M-104 Incinerator FRV | Ramming grille + roof flamethrower | Was tied to Census Thunder; never awarded | ❌ Unavailable, no re-release announced |
| Castellan's Green (pattern) | Cosmetic paint only | Castellan's Creed Warbond (1,500 SC) | ✅ Available (cosmetic, not a variant) |
How long does it take to unlock the FRV?
The real cost of the FRV isn't money — it's time. Reaching Level 25 and banking 25,000 Requisition Slips is a steady mid-game grind, not a day-one unlock. Requisition comes in slowly: Points of Interest drop Slips in stacks of around 100 (with a rare 1,000), and a full mission plus its extraction bonus nets a few hundred. Realistically you're looking at dozens of missions to both hit Level 25 and save 25,000 Slips while still paying for Stratagems and Ship Modules along the way.
If you'd rather skip the grind and get straight to driving — unlocking the vehicle, pushing past Level 25, or clearing the Requisition and progression wall — that's exactly the kind of time-sink a Helldivers 2 leveling and progression service is built to shortcut, so you spend your sessions actually using the FRV instead of farming the currency to buy it. Whichever route you take, remember: everything here is earnable in-game — there is no marketplace, no trading, and no legitimate way to buy the vehicle itself with real money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the FRV a Warbond unlock in Helldivers 2? No. The base M-102 Gunner FRV is bought with 25,000 Requisition Slips at the Patriotic Administration Center once you reach Level 25. It is not on any Warbond page and does not cost Super Credits. New players often look for it in a Warbond by mistake.
How do you get the Supply FRV? The M-103 Supply FRV was originally a reward for the Operation Census Thunder campaign in June 2026. Arrowhead has confirmed it becomes permanently unlockable with Requisition Slips for all players in October 2026 — no Super Credits required. Players who earned it in June keep it automatically.
Can you unlock the Incinerator FRV right now? No. The M-104 Incinerator FRV was tied to the same June campaign but was never actually awarded because its planet wasn't the first liberated. It is currently not obtainable and Arrowhead has not announced a re-release date, so there is no way to drive it at the moment.
Is the FRV the same as the Maelstrom tank? No. The FRV is a light four-wheeled recon buggy unlocked with Requisition Slips. The TD-110 Maelstrom is a separate heavy tank added in patch 7.1.0 and unlocked through the Armored Eagle Major Order. They are different vehicles in different stratagem categories.
What is the difference between an FRV variant and a vehicle pattern? A functional variant (Gunner, Supply, Incinerator) changes the FRV's weapon and role. A pattern, like Castellan's Green from the Castellan's Creed Warbond, is purely a cosmetic paint job — the vehicle looks different but performs identically.
Does the FRV cost real money? No. The vehicle and all its functional variants are earned with in-game Requisition Slips. Helldivers 2 has no marketplace, no trading and no way to buy the FRV itself for cash — avoid any site claiming to sell it directly.
The bottom line
Right now, only one FRV variant is cleanly available to everyone: the base M-102 Gunner FRV, for 25,000 Requisition Slips at Level 25. The M-103 Supply FRV is the one to watch — it goes permanently free (Requisition Slips, no cash) for all players in October 2026, so start banking Slips if you want the turret-and-resupply build the day it drops. The M-104 Incinerator FRV remains off the table with no release date. And whatever you do, don't confuse any of these with the TD-110 Maelstrom tank — different vehicle, different unlock entirely.
Verified against the current released patch, Devoid of Liberty 7.1.1 (September 24, 2026). FRV variant and unlock data from helldivers.wiki.gg; October 2026 Supply FRV rollout confirmed via Arrowhead's own campaign announcement. Galactic War and campaign states change constantly — check the latest patch notes before you deploy.
