This guide is for the 2011 release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3). For the 2023 (PS4/PS5) release refer to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Trophy Guide & Roadmap.

1. Collectibles
1.1. All Intel Locations

2. Story-Related
2.1. This is My Boomstick (Black Tuesday)
2.2. What Goes Up… (Persona Non Grata)
2.3. Flight Attendant (Turbulence)
2.4. For Whom The Shell Tolls (Back on the Grid)
2.5. Kill Box (Return to Sender)
2.6. Danger Close (Bag and Drag)
2.7. Ménage à Trois (Iron Lady)
2.8. Nein (Scorched Earth)

3. Miscellaneous
3.1. Strike! – Kill 5 enemies with a single grenade
3.2. Birdie – Kill 2 enemy helicopters without getting hit in a Special Ops Survival game
3.3. Serrated Edge – Finish a Juggernaut with a knife in Special Ops.

4. Spec Ops
4.1. #1 – Stay Sharp
4.2. #2 – Milehigh Jack
4.3. #3 – Over Reactor
4.4. #4 – Hit and Run
4.5. #5 – Toxic Paradise
4.6. #6 – Firewall
4.7. #7 – Fatal Extraction
4.8. #8 – Hostage Taker
4.9. #9 – Charges Set
4.10. #10 – Resistance Movement
4.11. #11 – Little Bros
4.12. #12 – Invisible Threat
4.13. #13- Server Crash
4.14. #14 – Smack Town
4.15. #15 – Flood the Market
4.16. #16 – Fire Mission

Scout Leader
There are 46 Intels in total. You can replay each mission, so don’t worry if you miss one. The intels look like computers.
Check out the Youtube Video Description for a detailed Timeline. Click on the linked time indicators to jump right to the intel you are looking for.

This is My Boomstick
Kill 30 enemies with the XM25 in ‘Black Tuesday’.
You will have the XM25 (a high tech grenade launcher) in your inventory when the mission starts. Make sure that you keep it all over the missions since you won’t find another one. Take out as many enemies as possible with one shot, you will get about 2 kills maybe more per shot (depends on how grouped enemies are). Later on during the mission you can restore ammo at the ammo crates and receive full ammo for the XM25. Restart the checkpoint if you feel that you have done really badly at a part. There’s a lot more than 30 enemies across the mission so if you only use the XM25 you will have no trouble doing this. Playing on recruit difficulty makes this even easier.

What Goes Up…
Destroy all the choppers with only the UGV’s grenade launcher in ‘Persona Non Grata.’
In the third mission, called Persona Non Grata you will have to control a vehicle drone. You have a total of 20 Grenades and need to destroy 5 Helicopters. It takes 2 Shots per Helicopter to destroy it. You may miss a couple shots. Take out the foot soldiers with your MG to save your grenades. Simply reload the last checkpoint if you mess up.

Flight Attendant
Kill all 5 enemies during the zero-g sequence in ‘Turbulence.’
This is the only secret Trophy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
The zero-g sequence is in the very beginning of the ‘Turbulence’ mission. Pick up an AK-74u and reload your weapons before entering the first room of enemies. Use your pistol against the first two soldiers and take out the last 3 with the AK-74u. You can reload the checkpoint if you mess up.

For Whom the Shell Tolls
Destroy all targets during the mortar sequence with only 4 shells in ‘Back on the Grid.’
Towards the end of the Back on the Grid Mission you will have to take out enemy vehicles with a mortar. Make sure that you destroy each one with a single shot. Wait until they stop driving and take your time while aiming. Reload the last checkpoint when you fail.

Kill Box
Kill 20 enemies with the Chopper Gunner in a single run in “Return to Sender.”
This can be done in the very beginning of the “Return to Sender” Mission. Once you breach into the roomy area and get off the truck, you will be told to use air support. Don’t kill any enemies yet. Go to the left side and cover behind some crates. Activate the Chopper Gunner and keep shooting all over the time. Enemies are marked with red symbols and are easy to kill. Reload the last checkpoint when you mess up.

Danger Close
Take down a chopper with an AC-130 smoke grenade in ‘Bag and Drag.’
After progressing about half way in the mission ‘Bag and Drag’ you will be able to use purple smoke grenades to request AC130 air support. Soon after receiving those grenades a couple helicopters will fly in and drop off enemy soldiers. Wait until the helicopter has stopped moving to drop enemies and quickly throw a smoke grenade underneath the helicopter. You will have to be quick as there is a delay in which the AC130 fires + the helicopters don’t hang around for long. If you fail then reload the last checkpoint (The checkpoint will put you back right before the helicopters appear so you need to be quick).

 

  Ménage à Trois 
Destroy 3 tanks with a single 105mm shot in “Iron Lady.”
In the beginning of “Iron Lady” you will be the gunner of an AC130. Keep waiting until 3 tanks are standing close together and shoot them with your 105mm ammo. You must destroy all 3 with one shot. Reload the checkpoint if you fail.

Nein
During the mission ‘Scorched Earth’ you will be asked to climb the “Reisdorf building”. Once you have done that you will have to protect your teammates from incoming tanks and enemies. To do so, you are able to request A-10 air support. Ignore the tanks for now you just want to focus on the foot soldiers instead as these guys are who you need to kill for the trophy. Aim and mark two points that shall be attacked, you need to be relatively quick since the tanks begin to kill your allies. You only have to kill 9 so you should have more than enough time to do it. If at any moment you feel you have failed simply reload the checkpoint.

Strike!
Kill 5 enemies with a single grenade in Single Player or Special Ops.
A good spot appears at the very beginning of “Persona Non Grata”. After leaving the start area and going down a set of stairs, you will come into a large courtyard. Run to the left side and take out the enemies that are in your way. 6 Enemies will come out of an alleyway and stop in front of a door. Throw your grenade right between them and you should easily kill 5 at once. Reload the Checkpoint and keep trying if it didn’t work.

Birdie
Kill 2 enemy helicopters without getting hit in a Special Ops Survival game.
Best place to do this is on the “Carbon” Map. It’s perfect because the air support crate is inside a building and the choppers can’t attack you. Two helicopters will spawn in round 6. It’s important that you receive absolutely no damage in the round you are destroying the helicopters (so don’t get hit by the foot soldiers or the helicopters). Before you go into round 6, you should buy 10 claymores and a turret. In total, you should have at least $10.000 at the end of round 5. Go to the air support crate and secure the area with your turret and claymores. Use Predator missiles to destroy the helicopters ($2500 per missile). Stay in cover where no enemy can see you. The trophy / achievement pops right after you shot down helicopter #2.

Serrated Edge
Finish a Juggernaut with a knife in Special Ops.
This should be done on one of the first Survival Maps with Easy Difficulty. The very first one called ‘Resistance’ is a good choice. A Juggernaut spawns in round 10. Shoot 2 clips of your MP5 on him. Throw a flashbang and attack him with your knife until he is dead. You can refill your flashbangs at the Equipment Armory Crate.

#1 – Stay Sharp
Personal Difficulty Rating: 3/10
Time limit?: 28 seconds

This mission is all about speed. Pick up another pistol instead of keeping the rifle. It allows you to run faster. Switch to your other pistol before the dog targets appear. You shouldn’t reload at all, it takes too long! The guns I used were the USP /w Tactical knife and the P99.

#2 – Milehigh Jack
Personal Difficulty Rating: 6/10
Time Limit?: 1 minutes 50 seconds

You need to finish this mission within 1:50 minutes to obtain all 3 stars. Keep the weapons you have in the beginning. During the slow motion sequences you need only one shot to kill an enemy. Switch to your pistol and finish off the first couple enemies. Take the AA-12 (Swap your pistol) You will now come to an larger area with lots of enemies. Throw some flashbangs and take them out. The other guys shouldn’t be a problem. In the last slow mo sequence you will need to kill all guards quickly. An AK47 works best and you can easily take out the guys that come through the door at the very end. You will get flashbanged so make sure you are close to the table to use it as cover!

Mission #3 – Over Reactor
Personal Difficulty Rating: 5/10
Time Limit?: 5 minutes

A timer will start after disarming the thermite in the very beginning. You will have a total of 5 minutes which is more than enough. Stay in cover and use grenades when things get out of hand. The rest should be relatively simple. Just remember that you need to take out all enemies in the first room before the next door can unlock. All the other exits are open and you can easily go for a speedrun.

Mission #4 – Hit and Run
Personal Difficulty Rating: 5/10
Time Limit?: No time limit

From the start, you should go straight for your first target, in the house in front of you with the two snipers on the roof. Keep your MP5 all over the time, it has enough ammo and doesn’t slow you down too much. After target 1 is killed go for target 2 and ignore most of the enemies. In the next part, you will need to free hostages in a container at the beach. Ignore the helicopters, when you are fast enough they won’t be able to spot you. Kill a couple enemies around the container and throw a flashbang before you go inside. Once you’re in, free the hostages and lay down. Stay here and kill all enemies with the MP5.

Mission #5 – Toxic Paradise
Personal Difficulty Rating: 7/10
Time limit?: No time limit

You are playing as a Juggernaut which allows you to take more damage. You can request air supports which can take out a lot of enemies within a short time. Use those air strikes wisely! You do also have tons of grenades and there are a couple ammo crates. Don’t rush into groups of enemies. You should stay on distance. Use cover a lot and aim around corners to hit some enemies, then go back into cover and repeat until all enemies are dead. Towards the end of the mission you will encounter an enemy juggernaut. Throw some flashbangs and use an LMG. Speed runs are not really possible in this mission since there are way too many enemies and you have to stop for the samples too often.
Recommended weapons are: LMG of your choice (you can choose some in the beginning) and the G36C or maybe AK-47.

Mission #6 – Firewall
Personal Difficulty Rating: 3/10
Time limit?: 4 Minutes

This Spec Ops mission requires two players!

One player will control the turrets and the other one needs to reach the end of the map. It’s not that hard. Player #1 should kill all enemies & helicopters before player #2 moves on.

Mission #7 – Fatal Extraction
Personal Difficulty Rating: 6/10
Time limit?: No time limit

You will need to collect 5 intels which are dropped by enemies. Most important thing is to take out the sentry guns that are in your way. One hit with the knife and they are gone. Shouldn’t be a real problem when you know where they are. The thing that causes the most trouble are the hyenas. Turn up your volume and listen closely to their sound. That’s practically the only thing that will let you know when they are close. If a hyena does happen to jump on you make sure you press at the exact right time, he’ll do nasty things to your throat if you don’t.

Mission #8 – Hostage Taker
Personal Difficulty Rating: 4/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

Avoid being seen and everything will be fine. Use your silenced pistol and your knife to take out enemy soldiers fast and quietly. For the 3 stars it doesn’t matter if you’ve been spotted or not. The main thing to worry about is the helicopter, never go into its spotlight or you will basically fail the mission.

Mission #9 – Charges Set
Personal Difficulty Rating: 1/10
Time Limit?: 33 Seconds

This spec ops mission is similar to the very first one called “Stay Sharp“. Finish the parcour as fast as possible. Use the MP5 in the first couple rooms and switch to your pistol when you are about to run out of ammo. Should be easy for you when you completed the first parcour already. It goes into nice slow motion which makes it easy to take down the targets.

Mission #10 – Resistance Movement
Personal Difficulty Rating: 6/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

One of the good old Stealth Missions. You have a silenced sniper rifle and silenced pistol. One shot with the sniper is enough to take out an enemy. You will need to aim really quickly at some spots. Follow the video step by step to find out what to do.

Mission #11 – Litte Bros
Personal Difficulty Rating: 3/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

This mission is relatively simple, you are supported by your allies on the helicopter the whole time. Keep the weapons you get in the beginning, they are a good choice (especially the MP5, it has very little recoil and kills enemies pretty fast). Take your time and go into cover when you need to. When you are inside the building you should throw some grenades when it’s getting tricky.

Mission #12 – Invisible Threat
Personal Difficulty Rating: 4/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

In this spec ops mission you will be playing as a Juggernaut, allowing you to suffer more damage. At the beginning, you should use your predator missile. Kill the soldiers that are in your way and disarm the first 3 IED’s. Fight the incoming waves of enemies until the tank rolls in. Destroy it with your predator missile and the rest should be a piece of cake. Disarm the IED’s whenever you have the chance and you will be done quickly.

Mission #13 – Server Crash
Personal Difficulty Rating: 5/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

In the driving portion in the beginning of the mission you will need to take out enemy vehicles with your grenade launcher. This shouldn’t be a real problem when you are aiming correctly. Simply ignore the foot soldiers, they won’t really hurt you.
You will be brought to a building. Once inside, use your grenade launcher to take out most of the enemies. When you drop down to the underground you should use some flashbangs to make easy targets out of the enemies. Head down to the little room where you have to download the data from Volk’s computer. Plant some Claymores and get some weapons you feel comfortable with. A dozen enemies will enter the room while the download is in progress. Stay in a corner and take them out quickly. Save your flashbangs, you will need them in the next part. Once all enemies are dead and the files are retrieved, you will need to go up the stairs where you encounter a Juggernaut. Throw flashabangs and shoot him with a Light Machine Gun. He is the most annoying bastard in the mission, if he manages to get down the stairs then you are dead. The last couple enemies won’t a problem.

Mission #14
Personal Difficulty Rating: 7/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

When the mission starts you are on a chopper and have to kill a couple waves of enemies. You should mainly use the PKP in this section. You have to reload whenever you have time to do so. When things get out of hand you can throw some flashbangs before reloading. The grenade launcher attachment of the M4A1 is also very useful. You can keep both weapons for the whole missions. The chopper section is all about skill and you’ll have to aim really fast. When you get out of the chopper all your ammo and grenades will restore. On the ground you should take out the rocket launcher enemies first. Work your way to the two objectives and destroy them with C4. The buildings along the way will offer good cover. Take your time, there is absolutely no need to rush. Stay behind walls and leave your cover just for a little moment to see where enemies are standing. Kill them one by one until the coast is clear.

Mission #15
Personal Difficulty Rating: 6/10
Time Limit?: No Time Limit

The hardest part might be the roomy area in the beginning. Use your XM25 to take out multiple enemies at once. There are two MG Gunners on top of vehicles. Take them out quickly and stay in cover. All in all, the mission is not that hard when you got 3 stars in all the previous spec ops missions. Use cover a lot and do always wait until your health has restored. Keep shooting on distance, it makes it harder for enemies to shoot you. Once you are on the rooftop you can basically ignore all enemies. Just take out the chopper, it does only take a couple shots. Later on a group of enemies will be brought to the rooftop. Camp behind some objects and take them out when they come up the stairs. You can ignore the toxic gas. It doesn’t really damage you.

Mission #16
Personal Difficulty Rating: 3/10
Time Limit?: 2 minutes

This Spec Ops mission requires two players!

Player on the ground:
Firstly you’ll want to wait until the your friend has cleared the way with the AC130, once he’s done that slide down and run towards the blockade of concrete blocks. Now you will see two cars coming towards you from the left, wait until the AC130 player has destroyed them. Now you’ll see some big concrete circles to the right in the distance. Some enemies will be around them so either you or the AC130 kill them. Now rum like he’ll towards the objective, plant the C4. Once you go through the door shoot the enemies inside (there’s about 5) now do your stuff with the laptop. Next step is to leave and kill the enemies that come into the building. Get the AC130 to shoot everybody outside and there’s hardly anybody. Once outside you’ll see some steps to the right, go up them to get to the laptop which opens the doors. Open the doors and loads of enemies come out. Once the AC130 kills everything run into the door. You’ll have very little time left at this point. Once inside, the mission ends.

AC130 gunner:
First of all press Square (PS3) / X (Xbox 360) to get the enemies to show up as red squares, use a mixture of all weapons to save valuable reloading time.