War Thunder

The first Israeli aircraft and dozens of other vehicles have also been introduced in the ‘Ground Breaking’ major update

Gaijin Entertainment announces the release of the ‘Ground Breaking’ major Content Update for the military online action game War Thunder. Terramorphing technology makes the ground battles even more realistic and offers players more tactical options. Aviation fans get the chance to try the first two aircraft from Israel, the next playable nation to be added to War Thunder. The update also brings dozens of other military vehicles and three new maps.

The terramorphing feature allows players to change the ground’s surface in real time and create cover or obstacles. Ground vehicles with self-entrenching equipment installed (i.e. the Soviet BMP-3 or the British Chieftain with dozer blade) are now capable of quickly building tank scrapes everywhere not surrounded by buildings, rocks, boulders, ice or paved roads. Air bombs weighing approximately 50kg or above, heavy rocket and missile explosions now form a crater of which diameter and depth depends on the power of the blast.

Israel, one of the leading producers and operators of military vehicles, will become the next playable nation in War Thunder. The Closed Beta Test of Israeli Air Force will start in the next major content update, but two packs with premium aircraft are available now for purchase in War Thunder. Their owners will be the first to get access to CBT. One of the packs contains a Spitfire LF Mk IXe in the livery of the personal aircraft of Ezer Weizman, a RAF veteran pilot, who later became the president of Israel! An alternative pack is available with the A-4E Skyhawk, a late Israeli modification of one of the best strike aircrafts in the game.

There are even more new toys to play with, including the light Ystervark, South African mobile anti-air unit, Cold War era destroyer USS ​​Mitscher and three versions of fast and deadly German Wiesel armored vehicles. The Wiesel 1A4 is a basic variant with a 20mm Rheinmetall 202/20 cannon. The Wiesel 1A2 is equipped with a launcher for the TOW-2 ATGM, tandem warhead TOW-2A and TOW-2B, able to hit tanks from above. Finally, Ozelot is a version with Stinger SAM on board.

The Aral Sea map puts ground and air vehicles fighting at the shores of a dried out sea, where a port has been abandoned a long time ago with cargo terminals, fish processing plants, bulk carriers and fishing vessels. Bourbon Island is a location for air battles inspired by Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. A characteristic feature of this large and flat shaped area is the gigantic craters of volcanic origin with a wide flat bottom – calderas. Finally, the Vyborg Bay location for War Thunder coastal vessels has been created using the magnificent northern nature of the Vyborg Bay near Medyanskaya Bay. Players fight inside a dense cluster of rocky islands covered with forest – so called skerries.

The full list of changes in the update is available HERE.

Visit the official War Thunder Website for more game information.

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The new update brings dozens of new vehicles, two maps and better visuals

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the “Direct Hit” major content update for the military online action War Thunder is available now. It makes the game better in all aspects. New content such as the Soviet attack jet MiG-27M with guided bombs, Swedish interceptor JA37C Jaktviggen, US heavy cruiser USS Pittsburgh and Italian IFV C13 T90 will provide new experience, new visual effects and upgraded 3D models of existing vehicles will make the game look better, while user interface updates will make it more user friendly. War Thunder also received the support of the version 2.2 of NVIDIA DLSS technology that brings high quality and high resolution graphics without sacrificing FPS performance.

JA37C Jaktviggen is a fighter-interceptor from a Viggen family of jets that were supplied for service in the 1980s and became a “calling card” of the Royal Swedish Air Force for a long time. The fighter’s unusual airframe design, efficient flaps and air brakes allow it to make quick turns with very good roll speed. The JA37 version of Viggen was developed to fulfill the tasks of a fighter-interceptor, so the main emphasis in the weapons list is placed on the air-to-air missiles, including the completely new RB71 with radar guidance, a huge launch range and G-tolerance of about 30G.

The ‘Direct Hit” update also brings realistic and better looking effects of water interacting with physical objects like bullets and shells. Ammunition storage explosions and ship fires are also updated. Aviation fans should check the new look of the iconic B-17 bomber planes. The number of polygons on the updated models tripled, and the textures became 4 times larger.

The range of maps for the combined battles of ground and air vehicles was also expanded. “Spaceport” is based on the map from the “Warfare 2077” April Fools event and offers more open fighting grounds surrounding the confined city center. “Breslau” is focused on urban combat and the design was inspired by the Siege of Breslau (Wrocław) which took place in the final months of WWII. The naval battles also got an important improvement: fire control system adds aiming reticule, UI hits for each gun’s status and a convenient lead marker.

Finally, the update also officially adds content created by War Thunder players as part of the revenue share program. Timur “_PtaXa_” Taniya developed the detailed cockpit model for the German He 111 H-16 bomber, while Daniil “Joy_Division__” Zaytsev created the German flying boat BV 138. Detailed explanation of revenue share rules is available here.

The full list of changes in the update is available HERE.

Visit the official War Thunder Website for more game information.

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Players will get an airborne combat vehicle, guided bombs and naval fire-control systems.

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the new major content update “Direct Hit” for the military online action War Thunder will be released in the first half of September. Players will get dozens of new naval, ground and air military vehicles, including Soviet fighter-bomber MiG-27M, Japanese light cruiser Yubari, Swedish infantry fighting vehicle Pansarbandvagn 301, Chinese-built Pakistani attack jet Nanchang A-5C, modern Chinese MBT ZTZ99-III and Russian airborne self-propelled tank destroyer 2S25 “Sprut-SD”. The update will also bring naval fire-control systems and guided bombs, as well as improved flow separation effects and infrared countermeasures visualization.

2S25 “Sprut-SD” is a compact amphibious vehicle built for the airborne forces. This tank destroyer is armed with a 125mm 2A75 smoothbore cannon, specially created for the 2S25 project and can use the full range of armament of the T-72B tank, including 9M119 guided missiles. The Sprut-SD has a reversible gearbox allowing it to move in reverse as fast as move forward – a very, very useful feature when shooting from behind cover. It can also float using two water jets for propulsion.

Yubari is a landmark ship for the Japanese navy, it was she who laid down distinctive technical features for Japanese cruisers: armor as part of the hull powertrain, twin funnels and an S-shaped stem. Despite the very low displacement, comparable to some destroyers, Yubari has all the attributes of a light cruiser, like a 38 mm armor belt and an armored deck, good speed and a crew of 368 sailors.

Large ships will now be equipped with a fire control system. Rangefinders, fire-control towers and fire-control plotting rooms will help players calculate the precise lead, and all those elements of the FCS will be visible in the X-ray vision mode in the hangar. This also means that the targeting interface is changing in both the arcade and realistic naval modes.

MiG-27M is the first vehicle in the game capable of using modern guided bombs, a new type of guided weaponry in War Thunder. MiG-27M could be also armed with rockets, free-fall bombs and a wide range of guided missiles, including the new Kh-29T with a TV-correlation seeker. A 30-mm six-barreled rotary cannon in a special niche under the fuselage has a rate of fire of about 5.000 rounds per minute and can slice ground vehicles into pieces, while a new engine is adapted for more confident operation at low altitudes and subsonic speeds.

More information on other new vehicles and features in the “Direct Hit” update will be available at the official War Thunder website in the upcoming weeks.

Watch the “Direct Hit” update trailer HERE.

Visit the official War Thunder Website for more game information.

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An experimental Soviet SPG, a high-tech US tank prototype and more prizes await the players. 

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the Future Technology event for the military online action War Thunder that gives the opportunity to get new rare vehicles will continue until the 12th of April. The prizes are: the Soviet SU-76D SPG, the Japanese JDS Yūgure destroyer, the US XM8 light tank and an early version of the German F-4F fighter jet.

Future Technology is a crafting event where players participate in regular War Thunder battles to gather resources, ammunition and blueprints that are required to build a futuristic Minotaur tank. These Minotaur tanks can be exchanged for the four new rare vehicles mentioned above.

The SU-76D was an experimental tank destroyer with a low silhouette, an inclined arrangement of armor plates and a diesel engine. It was developed by the Soviet engineers during World War II but was not used in serial production because of the difficulties with the locally produced and sufficiently powerful diesel engine.

Yūgure was originally a Fletcher class US destroyer that Japan received at the end of 1950’s and was modified and used as an anti-submarine and training vessel. Five dual 40mm Bofors cannons allow Yūgure to easily take care of any smaller vessels and aircraft.

The XM8 AGS was an experimental American light tank, developed in the early 1990’s in an effort to replace the Army’s outdated M551 Sheridan tanks but only prototypes of this machine were built. The 105 mm XM35 rifled cannon and a 550 horsepower diesel engine gives XM8 enough firepower and mobility. There is an option to install additional composite screens onto the vehicle, enhancing its protection.

The F-4F was the export version of the famous Phantom fighter jet made for the German Air Force. It’s almost as powerful as the original US variant. The pilot is free to choose from a variety of weapons: bombs up to 2,000 pounds, Mighty Mouse and Zuni rockets, 20mm Vulcan gunpods and three modifications of the deadly Sidewinder air-to-air missiles: AIM-9B FGW-2, AIM-9E and AIM-9J.

The full description of the Future Technology event is available at the official website as well in the tutorial video.

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Dozens of new ships, tanks and jets are waiting for the players in the Ixwa Strike update.

Gaijin Entertainment announces the release of the “Ixwa Strike” major Content Update for the military online action War Thunder. Players now have a new RSA ground vehicles branch in the British tech tree, as well as dozens of other ground, air and naval military vehicles. Variable-sweep wing aircraft and aircraft HUD devices have been added to the game. Finally, the abandoned Soviet military town of Seversk-13 and its environment that will become a new battleground for the armoured vehicles and aircraft of War Thunder.

Exploring the RSA vehicles branch will give the players the unique opportunity to follow the history of original South African ground vehicle development, starting from World War II era armoured cars and going all the way to the more modern vehicles. A good example is the TTD (Tank Technology Demonstrator) project, the South African MBT designed locally and built from locally-produced components. Although TTD stayed on the prototype stage, its technological know-how have been used later for the modernization of Olifant tanks to Mk2 standard (those are also available in War Thunder).

The Su-17M2 fighter-bomber jet became the first variable-sweep wing aircraft in War Thunder .Despite its large mass, the variable sweep of the wing makes it sufficiently maneuverable at low speeds and fast enough for a top-tier attack aircraft – it can reach speeds of almost Mach 2. The payload of the Su-17M2 is 4,000 kg and it is possible to install cannon pods, bombs of 100 to 500 kg calibres, S-5, S-8, S-3 or S-24 rockets, as well as guided missiles: the R-60 air-to-air; as well as Kh-23M, Kh-25 and Kh-29L air to surface class missiles. The update also brings other legendary aircraft, like the powerful French Mirage III E and US carrier-based F8U-2 Crusader fighter with interesting variable-incidence wing mechanics, which simplifies takeoff and landing.

The Heads-Up Display (HUD) device is a must for all modern aircraft. It is located right in front of the pilot’s eyes, displaying the most important information about the current condition and attitude of the aircraft or helicopter and can even show the impact points for shells, rockets or bombs, calculated by the ballistic computer. War Thunder players have already seen modern helicopter HUDs, while the “Ixwa Strike” update brings similar devices for the aircraft, i.e. F-4 Phantom II and Harrier family war machines. This new feature is especially important for players that prefer realistic or simulation modes of War Thunder that do not use markers for target assisting, so that the fighting feels as close to the real thing as possible.

Finally, naval fans also got several cool vessels of various classes for different nations. A good example is the Japanese light cruiser Isuzu that took part in the invasion of Hong Kong and Guadalcanal battles. It’s volley of eight long range Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes could become a serious argument in fierce War Thunder blue-water navy battles.

For full information on the changes brought by the “Ixwa Strike” update is available at the official website.

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The ‘New Power’ update brings a new engine, next-gen consoles version, battleships, new aircraft carriers, VTOL aircraft and more

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the military online action War Thunder just got “New Power”, which is the biggest update in the history of the game, as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of War Thunder that fully utilize the next-gen consoles power. War Thunder has also switched to the Dagor 6.0 engine, thus significantly upgrading the game visuals on all platforms. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X players can enjoy the new look at a steady 4K@60FPS resolution, while the PC version supports DLSS technology for RTX graphics cards. The ‘New Power’ update also introduces battleships, VTOL aircraft and lots of other new military vehicles, i.e. the T-90A and Leclerc S2 tanks.

Visual enhancements are the first thing that players will notice in the updated game. The War Thunder engine simulates a natural-looking sky with clouds of various types, fog and the correct distribution and scattering of sunlight. The game now has the means to draw a realistic sunset on Mars or a nuclear bomb explosion if needed. Shot and explosion effects, as well as fires and vehicle destruction physics are also enhanced. Physically correct armour scars appear on ground vehicles in places where shells hit and in some cases the projectile can even get stuck in the armour.

War Thunder naval players will now have the chance to fight using battlecruisers and battleships – like the famous HMS Dreadnought that marked the beginning of a new era in military shipbuilding or the Imperatritsa Mariya (“Empress Maria”), which is one the dreadnought-class battleships built by the Russian Empire right on time for World War I. USA, Germany and Japan also got their own battleships. The update also changes the naval fleet progression system, allowing new players to skip torpedo boats and start with destroyers to get to the largest ships much faster.

Aircraft fans are getting VTOL machines in the Harrier and Yak-38 families. They are equipped with a thrust vectoring propulsion system. In flight, pilots can vary the thrust nozzles’ angle to alter the flight characteristics of the aircraft – for example to perform tighter turns. Additionally, pilots will be able to perform helicopter-style attack runs or avoid enemy detection at low altitude. War Thunder players are also getting aircraft carriers that are suitable for machines of this era, namely, HMS Ark Royal, USS Forrestal and the Soviet aircraft cruiser Baku.

T-90A tank is finally arriving in War Thunder. It’s most distinctive feature is the Shtora electro-optical jammer and laser/IR warning system. Two groups of Shtora sensors on the tank turret look like giant eyes – that’s how you can easily recognise the T-90A in photos. Other nations also get interesting examples of modern armoured vehicles, like the US M1128 Stryker MGS, German Leopard 2A6 and French Leclerc S2.

“New Power” update brings numerous new features, like the interactive hangar or illuminating shells. There is going to be a Battle Pass system as well, allowing players to get prizes for participating in battles and completing daily and seasonal tasks. Rewards include not only cosmetic items, but premium vehicles as well, i.e. US F2G jet and Soviet Т-10А tank. Reward vehicles can be added to a player’s hangar or sold to other players on the market.

The full list of updates is available at the official War Thunder website.

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Battlecruisers and battleships, including HMS Dreadnought, will join the battle

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the next major Content Update will bring battlecruisers and battleships. The Blue-water fleet with destroyers, cruisers and battleships will become the fifth type of military hardware in War Thunder, along with ground vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and coastal fleet.

War Thunder naval battles began with clashes of light and fast coastal forces ships, like torpedo boats, gunships and submarine chasers. Other types of ships including frigates, destroyers and cruisers were added to War Thunder later. The “New Power” update will bring colossal battlecruisers and battleships boasting heavy armor and large calibre guns.

These large ships will include the British battleship Dreadnought (“Дредноут”), the German battleship Westfalen, the US heavy cruiser New Orleans and many other famous ships. Dreadnought is probably the most famous from the list. The construction of this battleship at the beginning of the 20th century made fleets from other nations obsolete because of two key features: an “all-big-gun” armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam turbine propulsion. Other countries rushed to counter this threat with similar war machines and as a result a whole generation of battleships from that era was commonly referred to as “dreadnoughts”.

The gameplay experience was always quite different for small and large vessels and this difference will only increase when the battleships arrive in the game. This is why the fleet tech trees will be split into two separate trees – coastal fleet and blue-navy fleet with separate progression schemes. Players will be able to use any ships they’ve already unlocked and to train existing ship crews to use any other ships. This decision will allow newcomers that are interested only in larger ships to skip small vessels altogether, start with destroyers and get to cruisers and battleships faster, while the developers will get more freedom to choose the ships for the upcoming updates. War Thunder massive naval battles will still involve all types of vessels from both coastal and blue-navy fleets meaning that fast torpedo boats and gunboats will fight together with large ships and aircraft to achieve team victory.

More information on fleet restructuring in War Thunder is available at the official website.

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Winners will get four new rare military vehicles, including the modern Merkava tank

Gaijin Entertainment announces the start of the “Strategist” event in the military online action War Thunder. Players collect toy soldiers and use them to attack enemy lines on the strategic map. Four new exclusive vehicles will serve as rewards: the Merkava Mk.3D main battle tank, a BI fighter interceptor, the Lübeck frigate and the Sd.Kfz.251/10 armoured vehicle. The event will last until October, 5th.

“Strategist” event players attack figurines that represent enemy armies, sabotage buildings, break through defensive lines and collect secret documents that can be exchanged for prizes. All resources and toy soldiers for the “Strategist” event can be obtained by playing classic War Thunder session battles.

The Merkava Mk.3D is a later modification of the well-known Israeli main battle tank that remained in production until 2003. It gained a new 120 mm smoothbore cannon, a better engine and new electronic equipment that includes thermal sights and a laser warning system.

Watch the trailer here.

The BI is the first Soviet rocket-powered aircraft, designed during WWII and envisioned to become a short-range defensive interceptor. The aircraft’s rocket propulsion allows it to get into the action fast, thanks to high acceleration, top speed and climb rate, but at the same time, prevents it from lingering in combat for too long due to its limited fuel supply of just 2 minutes with WEP mode. This aircraft didn’t take part in active combat, but the insights gained were later used for other projects during the Cold War.

Lübeck is a Köln-class frigate, built in the 1960’s and represents one of the first larger warships built by Germany after WW 2.

The Sd.Kfz.251/10 is a variant of the well-known and widely used German WW 2 halftrack, equipped with a 3.7cm anti-tank cannon for increased firepower.

The full description of the “Strategist” event and the prizes is available at the official War Thunder Website.

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The key battle of the Arab–Israeli War will also be available to players

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the 3rd season of World War mode is coming to the military online action game War Thunder in a few weeks. In this mode some of the players will serve as commanders moving armies on the strategic map, whilst others will resolve the clashes of those armies in the form of classic War Thunder gameplay sessions. While the first two seasons reconstructed famous World War II battle scenarios with the relevant military hardware used, the new one will feature ground and air vehicles built in the second half of the 20th century – T-80 and Leopard 2 tanks, Mi-24 and Bo 105 helicopters, MiG-21 and F-104 fighter jets. The advanced weaponry will be used to recreate a hypothetical scenario of a key World War III battle and a famous tank battle from the Yom Kippur War.

During the Cold War, NATO strategists studied various scenarios of a potential 3rd World War. They thought that no matter what and how the conflict would start, the Soviet group of Forces in Germany would probably attack through the so-called Fulda Gap – a lowland area between the Hesse-Thuringian border and Frankfurt am Main. This is a perfect place to operate a large tank force that the Soviet Union thought to be its trump card in this hypothetical war. The Fulda Gap battle scenario in War Thunder places the Soviet army against the Western German army with Frankfurt am Main as the prize.

Fulda Map

The Yom Kippur War began in 1973 on October 6th, when a coalition of Arab states simultaneously attacked Israel. On October 17th the successful counter-offensive of Israeli forces brought them to the western bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Arab armies tried to push them back and organized a massive attack near an agricultural research station that was marked as the “Chinese farm” on Israeli maps. The battle for this feature became the largest tank battle since World War II times. The Battle for Chinese Farm scenario in War Thunder will allow players to control either Arab forces armed with Soviet-made vehicles or Israel with a mix of American and French equipment.

More information on the new gameplay features in the new season – i.e. the role of the helicopter armies – and the dates when the battles will take place will be published on the official War Thunder website in the coming days.

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The Italian navy tech tree and dozens of other military vehicles join the battle

Gaijin Entertainment announces the release of the “Starfighters” Content Update (Watch Video) for the military online action game War Thunder. The Italian Navy tech tree with 20+ torpedo boats, destroyers and cruisers is only the tip of the iceberg here, as the game is also getting dozens of other war machines, including the legendary F-104 Starfighter and the Mirage IIIC fighter jets. The cross-platform multiplayer feature has also been drastically improved by adding cross-console matchmaking. Finally all PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will be able to play together with friends in all War Thunder modes no matter which platform each one of them is using.

The F-104 development started during the Korean war, the jet saw action in Vietnam as part of the US Air Force and was bought by the militaries of thirteen other countries. Two American and several international versions of this fighter are available in War Thunder right now. For example, the F-104A, the first production version of the Starfighter, is equipped with a six-barrel M61 Vulcan rotary cannon and can use two Sidewinder missiles. Later versions have a better engine and more weapon loadout options. These highly improved machines remained part of the Italian Air Force until 2004.

The French Mirage IIIC is another signature fighter jet of the same era and also the first European aircraft that managed to exceed speeds of Mach 2 in level flight. Furthermore, the Mirage IIIC in interceptor loadout has an extra SEPR 844 rocket engine generating additional thrust. The aircraft can carry a vast array of weapons, most notably a variety of AAM’s, as well as unguided rockets and bombs. Apart from French service, the Mirage IIIC also saw extensive use with the Israeli Air Force during the Six Day War as well as the Yom Kippur War of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Some of the Israeli Mirages were later on sold to Argentina, which in turn used its Mirages in the Falklands War of the 1980’s.

The update also features the first ground vehicle in War Thunder with a sophisticated radar detecting ground targets, which is 9P157 Khrizantema – the Soviet tank destroyer on a BMP-3 chassis. Having both radar and thermal sights allows Khrizantema to easily spot enemies and launch two anti-tank missiles at two different targets at the same time. Other interesting new vehicles are the modern Japanese Type 93 light SAM system mounted on an SUV-style chassis and a Bangladeshi Type 69-IIG main battle tank – basically a Chinese Type 69 modification with extra reactive armor and longer gun barrel.

With the new vehicles brought by the “Starfighters” Update, the total number of military vehicles in War Thunder now exceeds 1,700. The full list of changes in the Update is available on the official website.

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