P-996 LAZER

About this vehicle

• ◆The P- prefix of the plane is possibly a reference to the older combat aircraft designation system of USAF where P- means "Pursuit", which was eventually replaced by today's F- for "Fighter".
• ◆The AI-controlled Lazer has the ability to fire cannons in any direction, regardless of where the nose of the plane is aimed, just like AI-Controlled Buzzard Attack Choppers, having the ability to one shot the player.
• ◆The AI can also hover in mid air at player-unobtainable slow speeds (even with the airbrake and landing gear deployed) and will sometimes strafe sideways when idle.
• ◆996 is the in-game police codename for an explosion. It appears to be a coincidence, as all the vehicle's weapons are explosives.
• ◆The difficult handling is somewhat realistic since the Lazer's cockpit is directly copied from the F-16. And the F-16 controls do not feature a "one to one" input, i.e., for most fighters, if the pilot moves the stick one degree, the plane moves one degree in the inputted direction. The F-16's stick, however, can be only moved 17 degrees in any direction. This means the stick is highly sensitive, especially to any fighter pilots who got used to the "one to one" input from other fighters.
• ◆The Lazer's nose heavy stance mirrors that of the F-16, which is one of the first "relaxed stability" fighters created. During the design phase, the fighter's designer purposely threw the wings some ten feet to the rear in order to increase the plane's maneuverability. This means without its fly-by-wire computerized controls, the plane's highly nose heavy design makes it very, very hard for the pilot to control.
• ◆If a blacklight is shined over Fort Zancudo on the Collectors Edition map of the game, it mentions the P-996 Lazer along with the Titan and the Buzzard Attack Chopper.
• ◆Lazers can sometimes be seen flying on patrol runs around Mount Chiliad. They will engage on the target if they are attacked.
• ◆After patch 1.16, players now have the option to choose homing missiles or lock on.
• ◆The P-996's jet turbine has the ability to project any nearby NPCs/players away, sometimes even killing them. This can also be done with the Hydra.
• ◆As of the Smuggler's Run update, this is no longer possible with players.
• ◆It is possible to take off the plane in backwards by going fast in reverse, then tilting down the jet's nose, making it do a flip, then engaging the thrusters while airborne.
• ◆The P-996 is carrier-capable, as it is seen on board the USS Luxington ATT-16 on the flight deck and in the hangar.
• ◆If Agent 14's statement in Humane Raid - EMP is taken literally, the P-996 entered service sometime in the 2000s, as the Hydra is stated to be 1960s technology and the Lazer is said to be 40 years newer.
• ◆The fact that the Lazer entered service in the early 2000s is another reference to the F-35, which entered service in 2006.
• ◆If the player chooses to put aircraft helmets on, the player will equip a different targeting mode, which is more accurate, it also comes with a helmet-inclinometer. This mirrors the real life Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System (JHMCS) that is mounted on all F-16s, one of the planes the Lazer is modeled after. This system not only guides the jet's guided missiles, but also displays all the critical targeting and critical information system on the visor itself, vastly improving the targeting and the pilot's situation awareness. This is also present on armed helicopters as of the Heists update, and the Hydra.
• ◆This is because armed, especially helicopter gunships also carry their own HOD, Heads Out Display, which again, displays all the necessary targeting and the helicopter's vital information onto the helmet visor itself.
• ◆As of Patch 1.17:
• ◆Players flying a Lazer will be indicated on the minimap by a special aircraft icon.
• ◆The cannon aim is reset to a small dot, though the player can change it to a complex aim.
• ◆The handling has been slightly smoothed, making it easier to control.
• ◆The Lazer's description references the infamous technique of jumping into the base used by players in GTA V and GTA Online to reach and steal the Lazer. It also references the usual outcome of getting shot by a Rhino Tank in mid-air, usually in the process of boarding the plane.
• ◆When ejecting from the plane, the canopy opens before the player is ejected. However, when looking at the canopy, black squiggly lines can be seen, which in reality are meant to be explosive coil that would detonate upon ejection to smash the glass, allowing the character to eject through the newly formed hole. This means that the ejection sequence is modeled after the F-16, the main inspiration for the Lazer and that the canopy detonation cord is mainly for show.