Modern Warfare 4: Incoming! Achievement Guide – Destroy Every Vehicle Reinforcement in Stranded

TL;DR

• Incoming! is a Silver achievement earned in Mission 10 (Stranded) — destroy every vehicle reinforcement at the SAM Site before any troops unload.
• The key weapon: Bomb Drones. One drone per truck, two drones for the final BMP armored vehicle.
• Do the Jamming Station objective first — that’s where you unlock Bomb Drones.
• No difficulty requirement — works on Recruit.
• If even one soldier exits a vehicle before it’s destroyed, the achievement fails for that run.
• You can replay Stranded from Mission Select without starting the full campaign again.

What Is the Incoming! Achievement in Modern Warfare 4?

Incoming! is a Silver trophy on PlayStation and a 50 Gamerscore achievement on Xbox. It lives inside Mission 10 — Stranded — the campaign’s large open-world sandbox set in snowbound North Korean territory.

The requirement: destroy every vehicle reinforcement at the SAM Site before any enemy soldiers can disembark.

Stranded is the one campaign mission where you have three objectives and can tackle them in any order — Jamming Station, SAM Site, and Bunker. Incoming! triggers during the SAM Site objective specifically, when enemy vehicles roll in as reinforcements while you’re defending the location.

It sounds simple enough, but the window between a vehicle arriving and troops jumping out is tight. One truck that unloads kills the achievement for the entire run — so preparation matters more than reflexes here.

Does Incoming! Have a Difficulty Requirement?

No. Incoming! can be earned on any difficulty, including Recruit. There’s no Hardened or Veteran requirement attached to this one. If you’re going specifically for the achievement, play on Recruit to give yourself the most comfortable experience clearing the SAM Site before the reinforcements arrive.

What You Need Before Heading to the SAM Site

Step 1: Do the Jamming Station Objective First

This is the most important thing to know. Bomb Drones are the best — and easiest — weapon for Incoming!, and the Jamming Station objective is where you unlock them.

The Jamming Station sits up on a clifftop plateau on the map. When you complete it, you use two Bomb Drones to bring down a helicopter, and those same Bomb Drones carry over with you for the rest of the mission. They don’t disappear after the Jamming Station fight — you keep them in your inventory when you move to the SAM Site.

If you go to the SAM Site before the Jamming Station, you won’t have Bomb Drones ready. You can still get the achievement using other explosives, but it’s harder. Save yourself the hassle — Jamming Station first, every time.

Modern Warfare 4 Incoming Achievement 2

Step 2: Stock Up on Bomb Drones

At the top of the Jamming Station tower, after dealing with the drone operator, you gain access to a tablet and drone chests. Load up as many Bomb Drones as you can carry here. The reinforcement wave at the SAM Site includes multiple vehicles, and you want enough drones to handle all of them without scrambling for alternatives.

Bomb Drone chests can also be found at other outpost locations scattered across the Stranded map. If you’re exploring for Yellow Supply Crates or notes, check outposts along the way — you may find extra drones to top up your supply before heading to the SAM Site.

Step 3: Clear the SAM Site’s Initial Defenders

When you reach the SAM Site island, you’ll face an initial wave of infantry, technical trucks, and snipers before the reinforcement vehicles start rolling in. Clear these out first and get yourself into a good defensive position overlooking the approach routes.

The SAM Site sits on elevated terrain, which gives you good sightlines over the roads where vehicles come in. Position yourself somewhere that lets you see incoming vehicles from a distance so you have maximum time to react.

How to Destroy Every Vehicle Reinforcement

How the Reinforcement Wave Works

Once you’ve destroyed the SAM Site’s defenses, a reinforcement wave begins. Your squad calls out each vehicle as it approaches — listen for those callouts. They’re your early warning system.

The vehicles arrive in waves along the road leading to the SAM Site. They include technical trucks carrying infantry and, at the end, a heavier BMP armored vehicle. The trucks go down with one Bomb Drone each. The BMP takes two.

Every vehicle must be destroyed before the doors open and soldiers step out. The moment a vehicle stops and troops begin to exit, the Incoming! attempt is over — even if you kill those soldiers immediately afterward.

The Method: One Bomb Drone per Truck

As each vehicle is called out and appears on the road, deploy a Bomb Drone, fly it directly into the vehicle, and detonate. The explosion destroys the truck before anyone can get out.

The key is not waiting for vehicles to stop. Launch the drone while the vehicle is still moving toward you. You have more time than it feels like — but the moment the vehicle comes to a halt and starts opening, you’re on the clock. Hit it while it’s still rolling in for the safest result.

The Final Vehicle: BMP Armored Vehicle

The last reinforcement is a BMP — a heavier armored vehicle that requires two Bomb Drone hits to destroy. Send your first drone in and hit it, then immediately deploy a second and finish it off before any crew or passengers can exit.

This is why stocking up on drones at the Jamming Station matters. You need enough for all the trucks plus two hits on the BMP. Running out of drones mid-wave is how the achievement gets missed.

What If You Run Out of Bomb Drones?

If you find yourself without enough drones during the reinforcement wave, you can fall back on other explosives — Drill Charges, Thermite, RPGs, or any other high-damage equipment you’ve collected from Yellow Supply Crates around the map. The achievement only cares that the vehicle is destroyed before troops exit, not what weapon you use.

That said, Bomb Drones are purpose-built for this. They’re guided, they’re precise, and they can reach a moving vehicle from a safe distance. Any other method works but requires better positioning and faster reactions.

How to Confirm Incoming! Has Unlocked

The achievement notification pops on screen as soon as the final vehicle in the reinforcement wave is destroyed without any troops unloading. You’ll see the Incoming! banner appear immediately — there’s no delay.

If it doesn’t appear, at least one vehicle’s troops got out before the vehicle was destroyed. You’ll need to replay Stranded from Mission Select and try the SAM Site again.

What Objective Order Should You Use in Stranded?

Since Stranded lets you tackle the three objectives in any order, here’s the recommended sequence for cleanly getting Incoming! alongside the mission’s other achievements:

• 1. Jamming Station first — unlocks Bomb Drones. Non-negotiable for an easy Incoming! run.
• 2. Bunker second — grab the Silenced Shotgun reward and clear outposts along the way. Also gives you time to collect Yellow Supply Crates for the Time to Crate Gold achievement.
• 3. SAM Site last — you’re now fully stocked with Bomb Drones and equipment. The reinforcement wave is manageable and Incoming! becomes straightforward.

This order also fits naturally with exploring the map for notes, keypad containers, and Yellow Supply Crates — all needed for the Noteworthy and Time to Crate achievements in the same mission. For the full Stranded collectibles map and keypad codes, see our MW4 Stranded puzzle codes and Yellow Crate locations guide and our complete COD Modern Warfare 4 all code solutions guide.

Can You Get Incoming! on a Replay?

Yes. Any mission you’ve completed becomes replayable from the Mission Select menu. If you missed Incoming! on your first run through Stranded, just select Mission 10 from the menu, load in, do the Jamming Station for drones, and head to the SAM Site.

Your progress from previous runs — notes collected, crates opened — does not carry over in replays, but the achievement itself will unlock mid-replay as soon as the condition is met. You don’t need to replay the entire campaign.

How Does Incoming! Fit Into the Full Trophy List?

Modern Warfare 4 has 18 campaign trophies and achievements in total — all campaign-exclusive, none tied to Multiplayer or DMZ. Incoming! is one of the 10 Silver trophies in the set.

Stranded alone holds three achievements that are easy to miss: Time to Crate (Gold — open all 26 Yellow Supply Crates), Incoming! (Silver — this one), and it contributes to Scavenger (Gold — repair everything in Base Camp) and Noteworthy (Silver — read 50 notes). It’s the busiest mission in the campaign from an achievement standpoint.

Planning ahead for Stranded on your first run — doing Jamming Station first, collecting crates, reading notes, then hitting the SAM Site last — lets you clean up multiple achievements in a single pass rather than replaying the mission multiple times.

For the full picture on every trophy and achievement in the campaign, see our COD Modern Warfare 4 campaign trophy and achievement list. And if you’re working through other mission-specific challenges, our Pacifist achievement guide for Assassins and No Stone Unturned guide for Following Orders are also covered.

You can pick up the game on Steam, PlayStation Store, or Xbox Store. For pre-order bonuses and Vault Edition content, our COD Modern Warfare 4 Vault Edition rewards guide covers everything included.

Frequently Asked Questions