Flare

The Hawk & Little Flare is a Thrown item that produces bright red light and red smoke. It carries no damage, so it does not injure or burn other players like a Flare Gun round. Its role is to mark a position, most notably for Merryweather Airstrikes, and a thrown flare burns for about a minute before its smoke dies out.

In Grand Theft Auto V, the Flare is not a regular weapon and appears only for missions. During the freighter version of The Merryweather Heist, Michael carries one while searching underwater for the device after the ship is destroyed. In Monkey Business, Michael and Dave carry flares through the underwater section, and one is later used to mark Trevor's location for the approaching helicopter.

In Grand Theft Auto Online, a Flare comes with an Airstrike requested through Merryweather services on the phone. Special Cargo buy missions also give eight flares to organisation members, with one used at a designated point to call in the cargo plane. Flares can also lie at Crate Drop sites in red or yellow, though those examples cannot be collected.