You're grinding for Dark Spine or Abyss in Black Ops 6, and suddenly you hit a brick wall. It’s not the headshots. It isn't even the point blanks. It’s that one specific, nagging requirement tucked away in the "Killer" or "Mastery" tabs that makes you want to put your controller through the drywall. I’m talking about the under the radar challenge bo6 players are currently obsessing over.
It sounds simple on paper. Kill enemies while they have an active UAV or Counter UAV in the sky. But if you’ve spent three matches in a row on Babylon or Scud getting beamed across the map while waiting for a plane to show up, you know it’s anything but easy.
The game doesn't really explain the nuances. Like, does it count if your team has the UAV? Nope. It’s strictly enemy streaks. And with the way the current "meta" is shifting toward high-end streaks like the Chopper Gunner or Dreadnought, finding a lobby where people are consistently looping low-tier recon streaks can actually be a massive headache.
Why the Under the Radar Challenge in BO6 is Harder Than it Looks
Most players assume they can just play naturally and this will unlock. That’s a trap. If you’re too good, you destroy the enemy team so badly they never earn a UAV. If you’re playing against a stack of "sweats," they might be running HARPs or higher-tier streaks that don't satisfy the specific "Under the Radar" logic.
Then there’s the Ghost Perk.
A lot of people think running Ghost helps you with the under the radar challenge bo6 tracks, but it’s actually a bit of a mixed bag. Ghost keeps you off the map, which is great for flanking, but this challenge is fundamentally about the timing of the kill relative to the enemy's equipment. You need the enemy to feel safe. You want them looking at their mini-map, expecting you to be somewhere else, while you’re actually lining up the shot.
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The real kicker? The "Counter UAV" part of the challenge is often buggy. There have been dozens of reports on Reddit and the Call of Duty Discord where kills during a CUAV didn't track. It seems the game is very picky about the "active" window of the streak. If the plane is leaving the airspace, or if a teammate has already started shooting it down with a SAM Turret, the kill might not count toward your progress.
The Best Modes for Farming Kills
Honestly? Don't play Team Deathmatch. TDM is too unpredictable, and the kill limit is so low that matches end before the streak cycle really gets going. You want objective-based modes where the score stretches out.
- Hardpoint: This is the gold mine. Because players are clustered around a single point, they earn score faster. Faster score means more UAVs. More UAVs means more progress for you.
- Domination: A bit more spread out, but if you can hold B, the enemy will inevitably pop a UAV to try and find your positioning.
- Face Off 6v6: This is the chaotic choice. Maps like Stakeout or Pit are so small that if a UAV goes up, you can find and kill someone in approximately three seconds. It’s high risk, high reward.
Specific Loadouts for the Under the Radar Challenge BO6 Requires
You can't just go in with your standard setup. You need to be a "streak magnet." This sounds counter-intuitive, but you want the enemy to be successful enough to get those drones in the air, but not so successful that they're dropping Nukes.
First, drop the Launcher. If you're out there being a "good teammate" and shooting down every UAV the second it appears, you are actively sabotaging your own challenge. Let the planes stay up. It hurts the win/loss ratio, sure, but we're here for the camo, right?
Instead of a CIGMA, run a fast-handling secondary. You need to be able to snap onto targets the moment that announcer says "Enemy UAV overhead."
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Perks and Wildcards
You've gotta be smart here.
- Engineer: This is non-negotiable. You need to see enemy equipment through walls, but more importantly, it helps you gauge the general flow of the enemy's "earn rate."
- Cold Blooded: While not directly related to UAVs, it keeps Sentry Turrets and Chopper Gunners from ending your streak before you can find a UAV-affected target.
- Forward Intel: This is the secret sauce. The increased mini-map coverage allows you to see exactly where the enemies are spawning relative to their UAV coverage.
If you’re struggling with the timing, try the Undergrowth or Signal maps. These have enough overhead cover that enemies feel comfortable staying in one spot while their UAV is up, making them easy pickings for an "Under the Radar" flank.
Common Misconceptions and Tracking Issues
Let's clear some things up because the UI in BO6 is, frankly, a bit of a mess sometimes.
"Under the Radar" usually refers to the specific sub-challenge in the Killer category, but it’s also a common term used for the "Hidden" challenges that don't appear until you're halfway done with them. If you’re looking at your combat record and the numbers aren't moving, check your connection to the Activision servers. Seriously. There’s a known bug where progress "ghosts" and only updates after a game restart.
Another thing: Hardcore mode.
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Some people say Hardcore is easier for this. I disagree. In Hardcore, you don't have a mini-map by default. This makes the "benefit" of an enemy UAV much higher for them, but it makes it harder for you to navigate toward them without getting one-tapped by a pistol from across the map. Stay in Core. You need the health buffer to survive the initial engagement.
Strategic Patience: The Art of the Bait
Sometimes, you have to let them kill you.
I know, it sounds crazy. But if the lobby is "cold" and no one is getting streaks, sometimes feeding a few kills to the guy at the bottom of the enemy leaderboard is the only way to get a UAV in the air. Once you hear that radio chatter—"Enemy UAV in your AO"—that's your green light.
Don't rush the center. Skirt the edges. Look for the "red dots" on your own teammates' positions. The enemy will be hunting those dots. You, being the "Under the Radar" hunter, should be hunting the hunters.
Actionable Steps to Finish Tonight
- Switch to Hardpoint or Face Off 6v6 immediately. The density of players is your best friend.
- Equip the Engineer perk. You need to know when the enemy is placing Trophies or Scramblers, as these often coincide with streak usage.
- Stop shooting down UAVs. It feels wrong, but for this challenge, the enemy's eye in the sky is your ticket to completion.
- Use a Suppressor. If you’re firing unsuppressed, you’re showing up on their map regardless of their UAV. A suppressor ensures that you remain the predator, not the prey, during the challenge window.
- Check your progress every two matches. If the tracker is stuck, restart the application. Don't waste an hour of grinding on a bugged lobby.
The under the radar challenge bo6 provides is essentially a test of patience. It’s not about how well you aim; it’s about how well you read the "macro" game. Once you stop treating it like a standard TDM match and start treating it like a timed hunt, the medals will start popping. Get out there, let the enemy feel like they have the advantage with their drones, and then show them exactly why "Under the Radar" is a name to be feared.