Warzone Ground Ops are discoverable activities coming to the map in Season 1, giving squads extra opportunities to collect loot and find useful information while moving between fights. The official roadmap lists drilled safes, surveillance towers, cargo-carrying drones and radioactive barrels tracked with a Geiger counter.
Look for these encounters as you travel around the map. They are not a separate mode, and there is no confirmed map-wide list of locations yet.
What are Warzone Ground Ops?
Warzone Ground Ops are environmental encounters that can reward players for investigating the map instead of only opening regular loot containers. Activision describes them as discoverable, which means they form part of the world you are fighting through rather than a permanent progression screen or a new weapon category.
Ground Ops are not the same as Contracts. The roadmap describes things you discover and interact with in the world, not a second set of Contract missions with guaranteed cash payouts.
All Warzone Ground Ops in Season 1
Four activities are named in the Season 1 announcement. Each involves something different: securing valuables from a safe, obtaining battlefield information and loot, intercepting cargo, or tracking hidden supplies with a tool.
Drill high-value safes
Some Warzone Ground Ops involve high-value safes that players can drill open to claim the items inside. The confirmed mechanic is drilling the safe and securing its contents. The roadmap does not identify exact safe locations or publish a universal drill duration.
Keep an eye out for the designated high-value safes while looting. Not every ordinary safe is necessarily part of the activity.
Use surveillance towers
Surveillance towers provide information about enemy positions and are associated with legendary loot chests. That gives this Warzone Ground Ops activity two separate reasons to investigate a tower: information that helps with nearby threats and a chance to secure better equipment.
A tower could be worth investigating when you need both a better view of nearby threats and extra loot. Its precise scan range and map locations have not been published.
Shoot down cargo drones
The official roadmap describes drones that can be shot down for the cargo they carry. This is a loot interception activity. The drones are not described as escorts that you follow to a destination, and they are not the same thing as the player-controlled Grabber Drone Field Upgrade.
Spotting the drone is only half the job. You need to shoot it down to claim what it is carrying, so be prepared to draw attention to your position.
Find radioactive barrels with a Geiger counter
Another Ground Ops interaction involves radioactive barrels containing loot. Activision says players locate them with help from a Geiger counter, giving the tool a specific role in finding hidden supplies.
The radioactive loot barrels are distinct from the explosive fuel barrels introduced elsewhere in Season 1. The Geiger counter is used to locate the hidden supplies.
Where to find Warzone Ground Ops
Activision says the new discoverable interactions appear as you move through the map. The same Season 1 roadmap introduces Hajin for Battle Royale and Zodiac for Resurgence, but it does not provide exact pins for each Ground Ops encounter or a complete mode-by-mode availability list.
Watch for the type of object you’re trying to find. A safe needs drilling, a cargo drone must be shot down, a tower can provide intelligence, and radioactive supplies are tracked with a Geiger counter.
What rewards do Warzone Ground Ops give?
Rewards depend on the interaction. Safes contain loot, surveillance towers can reveal enemy positions and lead to legendary loot chests, shot-down drones provide their carried cargo, and radioactive barrels hold supplies. Activision has not provided a complete item table or guaranteed cash amount for any of these Ground Ops.
You are not just chasing cash. Some activities offer equipment, while a surveillance tower can help your squad make better decisions about nearby enemies.
When do Warzone Ground Ops launch?
Ground Ops arrive with Season 1 on Friday 6 November 2026. Launch is set for 05:00 GMT, midnight Eastern, 06:00 CET, 14:00 JST and 16:00 AEDT. On the US West Coast that is Thursday 5 November at 21:00 Pacific.
Other Season 1 systems include Weapon Augments bought at new Fly Buy Stations, Elite Perks acquired during matches and Field Upgrades such as the Grabber Drone. Each changes gameplay differently and is covered separately in our related guides.
Official source: Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 roadmap (Activision).
