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War Thunder News & Announcements

Welcome to the 130th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition!

All of you shared a fantastic collection of screenshots with us last week! Every battle has the quiet before the storm…. Capture the storm in a screenshot! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

Let’s begin the 130th edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen130. You have time until the 2nd of August to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

Terms:

Take a screenshot of an exciting moment in battle!

You must add the #WTscreen130 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).

Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.
Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.
You need to be the author of the screenshot.
Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.
We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).
You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.
You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.
Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 14 working days.

And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 129th edition – Chilling Out!

Winners selected via community votes:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3294166279
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3294189511
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3293512431

Winners selected by our judges:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3293341927
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3294157874
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3293638548

Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

Hey everyone! Today we’d like to share some more details regarding Research bonuses for new nations.

Let’s get right to it! We plan to release this feature before the next major update. Additionally, we’re planning to start internal testing by our team on the main server next week. Afterwards, you’ll be able to test the feature too and if all works well we’ll be good to go - once the live test starts we’ll let everyone know.

Regarding visuals, earlier on we shared some very basic concepts, but here’s what the feature will look like (part of it at least) once it's implemented into the game.

Some further details and clarifications about the mechanic:

As we mentioned earlier, the bonus will be available after unlocking the top vehicle of a tech tree.
The bonus will be active for 3 battles per day for each nation where the player doesn’t have the top vehicle of the same type unlocked (aircraft, bluewater ships and coastal vessels, ground vehicles, helicopters).
The bonus will be calculated from the base earned RP in the same way as the Skill bonus is.
The bonus works in any Random battles game mode, and will be applied if a vehicle of this kind was used in it. For example the bonus for aircraft will also be added to the base reward acquired on aviation not only in Air battles, but in Ground or Naval battles as well.

Of course though this doesn’t showcase the whole mechanic, you can check out everything yourself when the public test starts, so stay tuned for the news!

War Thunder Team

Interface

A bug that caused an inability to use a universal backup to respawn in battle has been fixed.

Ground Battles

Improved the visual effect of zeroing in an artillery strike.

Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.

Interface

A bug that caused the visual secondary weapons selector to display the armament of the previously flown aircraft in the mission after re spawning in another aircraft has been fixed. (Report).
A bug that caused the nuclear bomb carrying aircraft streak to not be available from the action bar on game pad controls has been fixed. (Report).
A bug that caused the state of automatic gearbox to not apply when loading a controls preset has been fixed.
A bug that caused the custom order of crews to not be accounted for in the window with the list of presets and in the window with the information detailing a squad member’s vehicles has been fixed. (Report).
A bug in the display of the groups in the tech tree that caused them to look vertically misaligned with the single vehicles has been fixed.
The following bugs with the empty vehicles presets have been fixed (the creation of an empty preset was possible only for Israel):
-The preset was not saved after removing the last vehicle from it.
-When the empty preset was selected it was impossible to delete a preset or create a new one.
-The window for vehicle selection for the crew opened when switching to a nation with a selected empty preset.
A bug that caused a hint on hovering over the crew block in the crew selection window to display an extra overlapping smaller crew block has been fixed.
A bug that caused the icon of an acquired coupon to be too small in the message window has been fixed.
The number of backups is no longer displayed in Custom Battles in the mission block above the vehicle.
A hint in the battle that informed the player that there were non-distributed shells has been removed, because it led the player to believe it was bad when it wasn’t.
An information in the mission block for vehicles, which are not available since the beginning of the battle, has been removed to reduce clutter on the screen.
In the crew training window in the qualification section, icons for crew qualifications have been added to their names for better clarity.

The ‘Skilled Marksman’ Battle Pass War Bond Shop will be open from July 24th to October 23rd.

Check out the War Bonds store and the bonds that you earn by completing Battle Pass challenges! As usual, we’ve prepared decals, decorations, player icons, camouflages, a new stylish pin-up that starts a new series, and six premium vehicles. The themed decal trophy will allow you to complete the new Zodiac collection, and reward you with a special decal if you manage to collect every decal!

This time, three vehicles are available for the first time in the War Bonds store: the Finnish Fokker fighter, the Soviet A-20G-30 frontline bomber and the French destroyer, Aigle!

The Warbond shop is available to players that have vehicles of rank III and up and is part of the Battle Pass. You can purchase items with the special ‘Warbond’ currency that can be obtained by unlocking Battle Pass levels.

More about Warbonds

Fokker D.XXI (Sweden) - first time in the store

The Finnish licensed copy of the Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighter is a master of agility. Two 20 mm cannons and two 7.7 mm Browning machine guns are ready to shred hesitant opponents!

Aigle (France) - first time in the store

A very mobile and tenacious destroyer, its guns are protected with anti-fragmentation armor. Great for fighting other destroyers and smaller boats!

Chi-Ha Short Gun (Japan)

A late modification of the Japanese Chi-Ha Kai medium tank with a 120 mm naval gun. Despite the fact that it only fires HE shells, their power allows it to effectively destroy almost all ground vehicles at its BR!

A-20G-30 (USSR) - first time in the store

A US bomber and attack aircraft, supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Six 12.7 mm machine guns will easily destroy weakly protected ground targets - while bombs and torpedoes will deal with the rest!

PT-174 (USA)

Mounted on the bow of this nimble torpedo boat is an excellent 40mm Bofors autocannon—accurate and fast-firing. A salvo of torpedoes will spoil the day for larger naval targets, and 12.7 mm machine guns and a 20 mm Oerlikon autocannon will ward off annoying enemy aircraft.

Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J (Germany)

A Pz.IV J medium tank with additional mesh screens on its sides. Great for sniper and ambush roles: its 75mm cannon can penetrate almost any enemy from afar, and five crew members make the tank a little more survivable.

Pinup “Muerte”

The decals this time around include a trophy with Zodiac collection decals, as well as a new pin-up, "Muerte", which starts a new series of themed decals. In the “Road Signs” trophy you will find decorations geared towards motor enthusiasts. The player icons in the corresponding trophy this time depict German tankers. Trophies with random camouflages like always will become available as new store levels are unlocked.

A large number of useful items are also available in the store: boosters, universal backups, wagers and orders, rentals of premium vehicles, and at high store levels - talismans.

You can see the full inventory of the War Bonds store for the current season, as well as the conditions for receiving them in the game by opening the Battle Pass window or “Store” → “War Bonds Store”.

Today we’re showing you in more detail the Italian Alcione that features 76 mm cannons, anti-aircraft guns and the Hedgehog mortar! This ship is the main reward in the Flight of the Albatross event.
Alcione: An Event Vehicle Gunboat for Italy at Rank V
Features:

76 mm autocannons with slow overheat!
Shell with a radio fuze.
Hedgehog mortar.

Vehicle History
Alcione (Italian for “Kingfisher”) became the second in a series of eight small ships that were intended to patrol the coastal zone and hunt submarines. Alcione was laid down at the Navalmeccanica Shipyard in 1953, launched the following year, and put into service in 1955. Like other ships in the series, the main Alcione’s main caliber gun was the first Italian 76 mm automatic SMP-3 cannon, and to combat submarines, it was equipped with depth charges and Hedgehog mortars. In 1991, Alcione was scrapped for metal.

Meet Alcione!
This is the Italian Alcione corvette, the vehicle reward in the Flight of the Albatross event and essentially an event vehicle variant of the Albatros that’s in the Italian Coastal fleet tree! Today, we’ll be taking a look at the strengths and weaknesses of this vehicle, and also see what it’s capable of in battle.

Like the Albatros, the Alcione can be a fairly versatile choice when playing the Coastal fleet higher ranks. The secret to Alcione’s success is its pair of 76 mm autocannons that are located at the front and back of the ship. While these guns have a high rate of fire, they overheat very slowly, and their 14-round magazines reload very quickly. The ammo for this gun includes no armor-piercing shells, but instead two conventional HE and a HE-VT shell with a radio fuze that can effectively destroy both boats, crews of larger ships as well as aircraft at fairly far distances.

Interesting: In honor of the launch of Alcione, a commemorative medal was issued with an image of the ship, an albatross flying over the waves (in honor of the name of the class) and the motto of the ship, NIHIL ME DEFLECTIT (Latin for “nothing deflects me”).

Among the additional set of weapons is a pair of 40 mm Bofors, depth charges and a pair of Hedgehog mortars that are more of a situational weapon due to the limited firing range, but destructive with a successful salvo at close ranges. Alcione’s speed does not exceed 36 km/h, but may not be enough for fast gameplay at the frontlines of attack.

Both in battles against other small boats and against larger ships, Alcione is a handy choice if you’re experienced. This boat will be especially good at defending capture points in shallow waters or for ambushing destroyers among small islands, where its Hedgehog mortars can cause fatal damage in one full salvo!

You can now start to earn Alcione in the Flight of the Albatross event that started today! Play naval battles, earn points and get 7 stages and this cool ship will be yours.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/236390/view/4356753293366574441

In this update we have solved a complex problem with damage to bases and due to that damage multipliers for bases have been corrected for some weapons.

Which bugs have been fixed?

Missing multiplier for the long-term fire of napalm bombs has been fixed. Prior to the fix fire damage was 13 times lower than it should have been. Now fire from napalm bombs deals serious damage to bases again. (Report).
Due to the lack of armor of the bases the damage of bombs and rockets that have less than 25 mm pen (approximate thickness of base armor) was 1.7 to 20 times higher than it should have been. (Report).
A bug that caused the reward multiplier for base bombing to be higher than it should have been for pods with bombs and rockets has been fixed. Prior to the fix the amount of weaponry in the pod was not taken into account.
A bug that caused the reward multiplier for base bombing to be higher than it should have been for presets with large amounts of low-caliber bombs and rockets has been fixed. Prior to the fix the reward was calculated from the combined explosive mass of the weaponry, not from the sum of damage of said weaponry.
The reward multiplier mechanic for base bombing has been expanded to affect rockets, as many rocket weapon presets are equivalent to or even outperform bomb presets.

These changes are improvements to the Bomber repair costs and bombing reward adjustment and are intended to equalize the reward for bases for different secondary weapons. These fixes are not related to the changes in rewards for base bombings which we planned to bring up for discussion which we mentioned on the release of separate BRs for aircraft for different modes.

Aircraft

Su-25T, Su-39 — a bug that caused the permitted launch zone indication to not account for roll angle has been fixed.
Su-22M4 (Germany) — a bug that caused the BR to change in ground battles has been fixed. The BR has been changed to the correct one — 11.0.
The weaponry tracking camera now turns off automatically after the explosion of tracked weaponry. (Report).

Ground Vehicles

A bug that caused the replenishment progress to continue decreasing even after it reached “zero”, which allowed some vehicles to replenish their ammo faster than they should by driving away from the point and back into it has been fixed. (Report).
A bug that caused glow from overheating to not disappear on destroyed vehicles has been fixed.
Object 279 — a bug that made it possible to penetrate the hull between the exhaust grids and hull roof using low-caliber guns has been fixed.
PLZ83-130, PLZ83 — a bug that caused the low-caliber HE shells to be able to penetrate the armor when hitting the box near the driver has been fixed.
A bug that caused the debuff on the turret traverse speed to persist after the healing of the crew has been fixed.

Naval Vessels

A bug that caused depth charges with a set fuze timer to fall through the naval vessel and to not explode until reaching the seabed has been fixed. It also led to a lack of damage to tnaval vessels from direct hits. (Report).
USS Flagstaff — a bug that caused target tracking to not work when the 40-mm gun was installed has been fixed. (Report).
Bernau — detailed missile characteristics are now displayed in battle when hovering over the icon in the action bar.

Interface

A bug that caused the nickname of the message author in the chat to be displayed incorrectly in some Custom Battles sessions when joining a battle after it has started has been fixed. (Report).

Please, note that the following points from this changelog have been removed as some changes were reverted and will be reintroduced in one of the coming updates.

Churchill VII, Churchill Crocodile — a bug that prevented track marks from affecting the depth of snow on winter maps has been fixed.
A bug that caused the use of marker target track to not always select the target which was being looked at and instead aim the camera to the previously selected target has been fixed

There’s a skilled marksman in town! Meet season 16 of the Battle Pass, featuring a flying boat and the main reward, the devastating Sholef Israeli tank destroyer. This tank features a 155 mm gun that’s capable of taking out a range of enemies thanks to its ammunition range. All in season 16!

To receive Battle Pass rewards, you’ll need to regularly log into the game and complete tasks and challenges. Each level of the Battle Pass will earn you a prize, be it a player icon, loading screen, title, decals, decorations, or 2 brand-new premium vehicles!

NEW! For the naval vehicle this time, we’ve created a trophy featuring 3 naval Battle Pass vehicles from previous seasons that were not available in coupon form, and 1 naval event vehicle. When opening this trophy, you’re guaranteed to get either the PT-658, MTB-422, Z25 or TKA-106 if you don’t already have them. If you have them all, you’ll get some Silver Lions instead.

In the future, we’re planning to rotate different Battle Pass trophies that contain a different set of event vehicles that were not available in coupon form too.

Meet Season 16 of the Battle Pass!

When: July 24th until October 23rd.

This Season’s Rewards

We’ve got a new set of decals, decorations, a profile icon a trophy containing previous naval Battle Pass vehicles, and two vehicles lined up for you this season! See the full list in the Battle Pass tab in the hangar, or check them out on our Wiki. Here’s some key rewards for Season 16:

Trophy with a previous vessel
1 random naval vehicle (PT-658, MTB-422, Z25 or TKA-106) from previous Battle Pass seasons or events.

Opening this trophy will give you 1 random naval Battle Pass vehicle from the previous seasons, or one from a previous event. If you already own all of them, you’ll be given Silver Lions.

PBM-5A Mariner
A Premium Hydroplane / Torpedo Bomber for the USA at Rank III

The PBM-5A is a huge flying boat featuring 100, 500, 1000 lb, AN-MK1 bombs and Mk.13 torpedoes. For defensive armament, there’s 8 machine guns. A fun aircraft for naval, ground and air battles!

Sholef V.1
A Premium Tank Destroyer for Israel at Rank IV

The Sholef V.1 is a tank destroyer featuring a huge 155 mm gun fitted onto a Merkava Mk.1 chassis. This gun is housed in a large turret, can fire HE and fuze shells and has an autoloader. Perfect for taking out a range of enemies!

Decals

4 decals!

Emblem of the 213th Artillery Brigade
Emblem of the 7338th Artillery Brigade

Emblem of the 209th Artillery Brigade
Emblem of the Patrol Squadron 50

Decorations

3 decorations!

Selectable Assault Battle Rifle
Laser Designator Rangefinder
Davy Crockett

Profile Icon

Skilled Marksman

All Rewards and Challenges for Season 16

About the Battle Pass

If you’ve got two Coupon Upgrades from stages in the previous season, then you can claim the new Battle Pass for free! Exchange them in the purchase menu of the Skilled Marksman season.

The Battle Pass is a seasonal event where players can earn many rewards, from Silver Lions and boosters to exclusive season prizes: decorations, profile icons and premium vehicles. The rules are simple: you earn progress points and use them to unlock new stages, earning valuable prizes in the process.

You can unlock new stages and receive awards at any time during the season.

You can access the “Battle Pass” window through the promo block on the right side of the hangar screen.

How to participate
Play

You get progress points every day for entering the game.
From 1 to 5 points.

Complete Battle Tasks

You can check your Battle Tasks in the game. Complete them and receive progress points.
From 2 to 5 points.

Complete Season Challenges

One Challenge is available at the start of the season. Every week you get a new one, while three more can become available by unlocking stages.
30 points.

Learn more about the Battle Pass

Welcome to the 129th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition!

We loved getting to see the screenshots you captured last week, thanks for sharing them with us! Summer is heating up, so find a place to cool down! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

Let’s begin the 129th edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen129. You have time until the 26th of July to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

Terms:

Take a screenshot on a map with snow and ice.

You must add the #WTscreen129 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).

Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.
Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.
You need to be the author of the screenshot.
Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.
We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).
You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.
You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.
Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 14 working days.

And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 128th edition – Three’s Company!

Winners selected via community votes:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3289496592
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288258589
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288211501

Winners selected by our judges:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3289581820
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288205194
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3292241380

Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

On July 20th 1951, the first flight of the Hawker Hunter jet fighter took place. The Hunter saw extensive use in dozens of conflicts around the world and is still in service with the Zimbabwean Air Force. A total of 1,972 Hunters were produced.

The Hunter FGA.9 is temporarily available for Golden Eagles!
This jet is available for 8,910 Golden Eagles.

When: From today until July 22nd (09:00 GMT).
Where: Great Britain > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

About this aircraft

The Hunter FGA.9 is a multi-role fighter with excellent guns in the form of 4 x 30 mm ADEN cannons with 600 rounds of ammunition. This is a fast and fast-climbing aircraft, suitable for all types of attack. You’re able to take 2 x AIM-9E air-to-air missiles for air attacks, or 4 x 1000 lb bombs or 36 x SNEB rockets that can also be combined with bombs for ground attacks!

Today we’re showing the main tank reward for the new Battle Pass season, which is the Israeli Sholef featuring a 155 mm gun mounted on a Merkava MBT chassis!

Sholef A Premium Tank Destroyer for Israel at Rank IV

Features:

Shells with a radio fuze.
Autoloader.
Large in size.

Vehicle History

In 1980, a group of Israeli defense companies began developing a promising 155 mm self-propelled gun on the chassis of the Merkava Mk.1 tank. As a result of this work, two vehicles were presented for testing — the Sholef-1 in 1982 with a 39-caliber gun, and Sholef-2 in 1987 with a long-barreled 52-caliber howitzer. Both prototypes were successfully tested and were even used for combat duty on the border with Lebanon, but the choice of a new self-propelled type of vehicle for the Israel Defense Forces was made in favor of the American M109, causing the Sholef project to close in 1993. The first prototype of the Sholef V.1 is on display at the Beit Ha'tothan artillery museum; its 39-caliber gun was replaced in the museum by a later 52-caliber one.

Meet the Sholef V.1!

This is the Sholef V.1, an Israeli tank featuring a self-propelled gun that is set to be the main ground reward for the new and upcoming Battle Pass season. The gun is a high-explosive slinger with different types of HE shells, the chassis is well-protected and mobile, and there’s the added premium status on top which makes this vehicle an excellent choice to start researching the Israeli ground forces tree. Let’s take a closer look!

The Sholef V.1 is going to be an alternative to one of the first vehicles in the Israeli ground forces tree, the American M109 howitzer. The Sholef V.1’s gun is a 39 caliber long 155 mm howitzer which is housed in a turret with hydraulic guidance drives. This gun can fire three types of HE shells: the M107 from the M109, and two M401 shells with a contact and radio fuze. If you’re accurate enough, you’ll be able to hit helicopters or planes with these shells.

Interesting: The 155 mm Sholef howitzer is widely known outside Israel as the Slammer.

The shells stored inside the Sholef are housed in two massive mechanized drum-style ammunition racks, which will be modeled as an autoloader in the game, meaning the rate of fire of the 155 mm gun does not depend on the skill of the crew and is 5 rounds per minute.

The chassis of the Sholef V.1 is from a modified Merkava Mk.1 tank. In terms of maneuverability and speed, the Sholef is somewhat inferior to the M109, but is significantly superior to it in terms of protection. The hull of this tank can easily withstand autocannon fire and bomb explosions, and can survive hits from tank guns. However, the turret of the Sholef V.1 is very vulnerable due to its compact layout, so make sure to stay away from the front lines if possible! Unless you’re feeling brave.

You can get the Sholef V.1 in the new and upcoming Battle Pass season, starting July 24th, as the main prize for the pass! We’ll be publishing the main Battle Pass news article soon, so be sure to follow the news on our website. Until then, see you around!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

The first Japanese supersonic aircraft, the T-2, was developed by the Mitsubishi Corporation and first flew on July 20th 1971. Production continued until 1988, with a total of 90 fighters being produced and exclusively used in Japan.

The T-2 Early is temporarily available for Golden Eagles!
This jet is available for 8,910 Golden Eagles.

When: From today until July 22nd (09:00 GMT).
Where: Japan > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

About this aircraft

The T-2 Early relies on its high top speed and climb rate, as well as its J/AWG-11 pulse-Doppler radar to detect enemies in advance. This multi-role fighter uses the AIM-9E and AIM-9P air-to-air missile and great JM61A1 cannon with a good amount of ammunition. For ground attacks, the T-2 Early can use regular bombs and unguided rockets.

Introducing the new Esports Trophy III, featuring camouflages created by authors from WT.Live! This new trophy includes 20 camouflages for various vehicles: 10 aircraft and 10 tanks. For this new trophy, we wanted to honor mid-tier vehicles with unique creations from our artists.

Aircraft
Tank

La-7 “Balthazar”
J-2 “Xiangqi”
SAAB-105G “The Eyes of the Father”
G.56 “L'Anima della Veloctia”
Fw 190 D-9 “Nachtblau”
P-51H “Timeless Racer”
F-86F-30 (Japan) “Tanchoudzuru”
F4U-7 “Corsair Demo”
P-47D-28 “Yellow Windrunner”
Spitfire LF Mk IX “Euler Defier”

Lorraine 40t “Le Serpent Magnifique”
M6A1 “Golem”
Maus “X-1”
IS-3 “Graffiti Bomb
M26 Pershing “Aztec Warrior”
T-34-85 “Magenta Storm”
M18 Hellcat “Team Alfie”
Tiger II (H) “Aysmmetry”
Fox “Natural Fox”
Panther G “Video Game Hero”

Like the previous Esports trophy, the new trophy can be obtained by simply playing regular War Thunder battles. In the future, it’ll also be possible to obtain by participating in Esports events in War Thunder tournaments with an increased chance! PlayStation and Xbox players can purchase the trophy in the Item Shop for Golden Eagles.

Read more on our Wiki.

To open it, you’ll need to purchase a key on the Market (income is shared with the authors of the camouflages). You can either activate the coupon on your account, or trade it on the Market to get Gaijin Coins (GJN). A trophy can be sold as well!

To unlock the trophy, you'll need an “Esport” key that can be purchased on the Market for GJN.
Read more about the Market and Gaijin Coins on our Wiki.

Armored Apex FINAL

This weekend, from 16:00 GMT, Twitch Drops will once again be accompanying the final stages of the 3rd Major Eport event of the year! Here’s a sneak preview of the BO7 matches on Saturday 20th July.

Watch the tournament and get Twitch Drops also on the official German, French and Russian War Thunder Esport channels!

“Armored Apex” pack + add link to Armored Apex stream pack
For War Thunder Esports fans, don’t forget about this small but very cute pack that contains a unique decal and title.

Today we’re taking a look at the PBM-5A Mariner flying boat, which will be the main aircraft reward in the upcoming Battle Pass season!

PBM-5A Mariner: A Premium Hydroplane / Torpedo Bomber for the USA at Rank III

Features:

Radar.
Large payload!
Torpedoes.
Low speed.
Large airframe.

Vehicle History

The latest and most advanced variant of the Martin Mariner flying boat was the PBM-5A modification, adopted by the U.S. Navy in 1949. The main difference from its predecessors was its retractable tricycle landing gear. Due to this, the aircraft was reclassified from a flying boat into an amphibian aircraft. Compared to the previous variants, this modification received search radio equipment and bomb bays in the engine nacelles. This aircraft remained in service until 1956, and the only other operator of the PBM-5A was the Netherlands, which received 17 aircraft of this modification.

Meet the PBM-5A Mariner!

This is (quite literally) a big reward for the new Battle Pass season. Meet the epic PBM-5A Mariner flying boat, the best aircraft in its series. Featuring a large payload, new engines, good defensive protection against aircraft and a search radar — let’s take a look more into it!

Veterans of air battles may remember the rare PBM-3 Mariner seaplane, which was the main reward of the Sea Voyage event well over 5 years ago. The PBM-5A variant is a further development of a very successful series of American flying boats. This new variant has an increased payload of up to 5,800 kg of bombs and torpedoes that can be taken into battle and can be combined independently. Choices available include regular 100, 500 and 1000 lb bombs, AN-MK1 armor-piercing bombs (up to 8), which perform well in naval battles against tougher opponents, as well as Mk.13 torpedoes.

Interesting: The only surviving example of the PBM-5A Mariner is on display at the Pima Aerospace Museum in Arizona, USA.

Despite the fact that the PBM-5A received new engines, the additional power is barely enough to compensate for the increased payload, as this aircraft is still slow, although has decent control despite its size. Its defensive protection has improved somewhat thanks to 8 heavy machine guns installed in the turrets and windows, with the pilots receiving armored backrests for their seats. Additionally, due to the enormous dimensions and large amount of empty space in the fuselage, the PBM-5A Mariner is capable of surviving machine-gun fire from fighters for prolonged periods of time, and can return to the airfield even after being damaged by autocannons.

The PBM-5A is going to be a fun aircraft for sophisticated air players, as it’ll be able to torpedo enemy ships in Naval Battles and fly around in Ground Battles causing a huge nuisance (literally, its wingspan is even larger than the B-17!). Its capable payload of up to 5,800 kg of bombs and torpedoes is not bad in itself, meaning the PBM-5A is an excellent choice for bombing in Air Battles too, however its impressive weight and varied arsenal will be in demand in both Ground and Naval Battles as well. Make sure to plan accordingly here and understand the search radar in advance. Doing so will not only be fun due to the amount of bombs, but will also come with an increased reward thanks to its premium status.

The PBM-5A Mariner can be yours for completing challenges in the new and upcoming Battle Pass season, starting on July 24th!

Aircraft

AIM-120A, R-77, R-Darter, Derby, AAM-4, MICA-EM, PL-12 — the autopilot has been reconfigured, trajectory has been optimized. Drag has been corrected.
AIM-120A, R-77, R-Darter, AAM-4, Derby, MICA-EM, PL-12 — a bug with the missile overcorrecting at long distances to the target has been fixed.
AAM-4 — solid rocket engine type has been changed to dual-thrust.
R-Darter — missile mass has been increased from 118 kg to 120 kg.

Ground Vehicles

A bug that made it possible to use thermal imagers on Scout UAVs in third-person view after leaving the gunner’s sight has been fixed.
The replay destruction camera now shows the enemy SPAA that shot the player down while they were in an aircraft.

Today, we’d like to discuss one of the Roadmap points, which is the construction of objects and trenches on the map.

Our thoughts and plan
When we first spoke about this feature in the initial Roadmap announcement, we mentioned that it would be an opportunity for armored vehicles that have limited amounts of ammunition for their main guns in order to try and mitigate this shortcoming.

However, during internal discussions we found it difficult to choose the criteria for vehicles that have limited ammunition. On one hand, not all vehicles with limited amounts of ammunition are able to quickly use it all up (for example, the Sturmmörser and Sturer Emil), and on the other hand, not all vehicles with a large amount of ammunition are suitable for advancing to capture points just to reload (for example, SPAAGs with small caliber weapons). Alongside this, some vehicles have several types of weapons of different calibers with different amounts of ammunition, and it’s not always possible to say what the main weapon is, how quickly its ammunition is consumed in battle, and how suitable the remaining weapons are for active and productive play.

Therefore, we’ve decided to expand and formalize the list of vehicles that can receive (based on voting results) this functionality. Vehicles include all Tank Destroyers, ATGM carriers (the type mentioned in the stat card, not any vehicle with ATGMs), all SPAA and SAMs, as well as ground vehicles with external rockets and bombs (such as the Calliope, M26 T99, RBT-5, Cromwell V (RP-3), Matilda Hedgehog, Magach Hydra). Tank Destroyers, ATGM carriers, SPAA and SAMs are often not suitable for storming strategic points and playing at the front of battle, but at the same time they provide important support to teammates from the rear lines.

We’ve decided not to exclude any individual vehicles from this mechanic, including those with a large ammunition capacity, since for them the new mechanics will not provide any significant advantage, but can diversify the experience with them to some extent. Additionally, Tank Destroyers don’t have the option to use artillery strikes, meaning these new mechanics could become their specialty. External rockets like those mentioned above are very limited in their use and therefore can also have additional ammunition to expand the tactical capabilities of the vehicles with them without affecting balance much.

What we propose
We’re now proposing new functionality for a huge number of ground-based vehicles for the vehicle types mentioned above: the construction of interactive objects and landscape elements. Different objects will have different restrictions on the reuse and the number of uses per respawn, which is needed for balance reasons as well as to prevent large number of objects in battle.

Constructing these objects
The construction of each object will take some time. When constructing, the player must remain in place next to the object, similar to replenishing ammunition at a capture point. While doing this, the movement of your vehicle is not stopped; you’ll be able to drive away if there’s a threat nearby, and then return to continue the construction. Below are the approximate values of timers and number of uses that may be changed during implementation, testing or evaluation of this functionality. The proposed objects will have a fully-fledged damage model, meaning they can be destroyed by a hit or ram, and the changed landscape would behave in the same way as landscape dug up with a bulldozer or that has been bombed.

Destroying objects
Objects will only be able to be destroyed by the player who constructed them and the enemy team. This is to avoid toxic behavior from teammates, who will not be able to destroy your objects, this rule applies to all game modes. However, any altered terrain will not be affected by these changes.

What can be constructed
In total, there are currently two types of objects for construction and one possibility of changing the landscape:

Ammunition Boxes. This object will consist of one or two types of boxes, depending on the number of weapon groups of your vehicle: separate box for guns and separate box for missiles/rockets. For vehicles with external rockets or bombs (such as the Calliope), there’ll only be one box just for the additional weapon. Ammunition for the main gun will have to be replenished at a capture point as normal. Each box will only contain as many shells, rounds and belts as you had at the time of spawning into the battle, allowing you to replenish the ammunition load up to this amount. Only the player who built the box can replenish ammunition from it. After running out of shells in the box, it will disappear. If enough damage is done to the box, the ammunition will ignite. The fire will not only destroy the box and the ability to replenish ammunition from it, but will also show its position with its visual effect and can cause damage to open-top vehicles if they fall within the damage radius. Ammunition boxes can be built again as many times as needed — including after being destroyed by the enemy — but will only contain the remaining unused shells. At the beginning of the battle, you effectively receive double the ammunition capacity and can manage it as you see fit by changing positions and replenishing from the ammunition box that is always at hand. The construction time is 15 seconds, and the cooldown to construct it again is 60 seconds.
Camouflage Net. This is a visual wall at ~6 m wide and ~ 3 m high that can help hide vehicles from the enemy. In Arcade Battles, the camouflage net will also help hide the player’s marker, but not forcefully and unconditionally. Instead, it’ll follow the game’s principles of marker visibility and concealment, simulating a solid wall of dense bushes. The color of the net is automatically selected depending on the location where the battle takes place; yellow for desert ones, white for winter ones and basic green for the rest. No more than four uses per spawn, the construction time is 10 seconds and the timer until reuse is 10 seconds.
Trenches and Mounds. Trenches and mounds in this case are not going to be a “preset” object that you can place on the map. This would not be very convenient due to restrictions on the angle of inclination and curvature of the surface, as well as restrictions on proximity and the inability to cross other stationary objects (buildings, stones, other trenches). Instead, we’re proposing to expand the surface modification capabilities. Currently, digging is only available when using a bulldozer blade if the vehicle has one. We propose to supplement the mechanics of changing the landscape by adding to vehicles with this new functionality (as previously mentioned, Tank Destroyers, ATGM carriers, SPAAs, SAMs and tanks with external rocketry) the ability to change the nearby landscape with a “brush” controlled by the mouse cursor or controller stick. To do this, the player will have to leave control of their vehicle, switching the crew to “excavation work” mode, select the digging / pouring mode, and then move the brush cursor with the action button held down. At the cursor position, the landscape will change in a given way, if nothing on the surface hinders this. This way, it’ll be possible, among other things, to complete the construction of other player’s trenches and mounds, built using both this mechanic and using bulldozer blades. The time spent preparing a fully-fledged position using this mechanic will be noticeably greater than when using a bulldozer blade. The number of uses per spawn is not limited, but each change to the surface costs “stamina”, which is restored over time.

Below is a video of how changing the landscape might look like. Please note that this is just an automatic demonstration that changes the landscape much faster than we’ve suggested.

Plans for Arcade Battles
The mechanics of replenishing ammunition from boxes would logically and technically conflict with the mechanics of reloading missiles in Ground Arcade Battles, which is currently activated after the missiles are completely used up. In addition to this, the arcade reload mechanic currently blocks the replenishment of missiles at capture points. In view of these factors, if we add the construction of ammunition boxes, we plan to remove the mechanics of arcade reloading, since replenishing ammo from boxes is — in our view — a more understandable and universal game mechanic.

Thoughts?
New functionality always has the possibility of changing game tactics and add more variety. Having said this, we understand that it’ll introduce even more objects to the map and may complicate the detection, identification and destruction of the enemy, and digging trenches and creating mounds with a large number of vehicles may complicate navigation and movement on the map. Therefore, we’d like to hear your opinion! Share it in the comments and vote for or against adding these mechanics we propose to the game. Your feedback here is important to us, and we want to make sure that any changes to the game are aimed at improving the gameplay and meeting the needs of players.

ADD YOUR VOTE HERE

It’s the hot summer, which is certainly the best time to go to sea! This new War Thunder event is dedicated to Italy, a prominent Mediterranean power. Take part in Naval Battles and receive an Italian Naval ship flag, themed decals, trophies with consumable items and the Alcione!

When: From July 24th (11:00 GMT) until August 7th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Naval Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards!

Alcione — an event vehicle Gunboat for Italy at Rank V

Alcione thrives in shallow water and among rocks. This ship is armed with two 76 mm SMP-3 cannons, Bofors anti-aircraft guns and Hedgehog mortars! This mortar is not easy to aim, but if you take the enemy by surprise, an accurate salvo at a short distance can sink an enemy destroyer.

“F 544” decal
“Alcione” decal
“Italy Naval Jack” naval flag

Among the rewards in the event is also this chest, where, when opened, brings the chance to receive one of the following items:

50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
Silver Lion and Research Point boosters
Random Wagers and Orders
Universal Backups (1 - 3)
A random camouflage for a vehicle you own
1 day of Premium Account

How to get all rewards
Each stage can be obtained for 35,000 mission points, where every new stage obtained will give you a new reward.

Please note: After finishing a stage, you need to collect the reward manually. To do this, click on your name in-game, go to “Flight of the Albatross” and click the “Get Reward” button.

You’re able to earn mission points in Naval Battles at Rank III or above in Arcade and Realistic Battles. The number of mission points to complete a stage depends on the game mode and the maximum Rank of the vehicle that you use in battle. There’s a multiplier for earning mission points, which is shown in the task description in-game.

You can also earn mission points by using event vehicles that are Rank I and II. Event vehicles that can be used have the name of the event that they were obtainable in on their stat card.

Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT on July 26th, 28th, 30th and August 1st, 3rd and 5th.

Rewards are given when you complete a specific number of stages

For 1 Stage: trophy with a random reward
For 2 Stages: one of the decal rewards
For 3 Stages: trophy with a random reward
For 4 Stages: one of the decal rewards
For 5 Stages: trophy with a random reward
For 6 Stages: “Italy Naval Jack” ship flag
For 7 Stages: non-tradable coupon for the Alcione

Discounts on purchasing stages using Golden Eagles
Unfinished stages can be purchased for Golden Eagles, but if you’re significantly close to completing a stage, its price will now be significantly reduced.

Let’s say you have earned 85% of the required mission points to complete a stage, then the price of purchasing this stage will be halved. If you’re near the finish line for a stage and are at 95% progress, then the price will be reduced by five times. For example, if you’ve scored 30,000 mission points, then the price for unlocking this stage will be 499 Golden Eagles. If you’ve scored 33,500 mission points, then you’ll only need to pay 199 Golden Eagles. Remember to keep this in mind if you cannot complete a stage on time!

The Upgrade for coupon
When you complete 7 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the Alcione, where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from July 24th (11:00 GMT) until August 7th (11:00 GMT) for 600,000 mission points.

After receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” item, you can convert a non-tradable coupon for the vehicle into a tradable one and sell it on the Market. The tradable coupon can be sold after 6 days from the moment it’s created.

To make a tradable coupon, select the “Coupon Alcione (Italy)” in your inventory and click the “Modify” button.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until 11:00 GMT on August 12th. Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.

You can track the progress of completing stages and receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” by clicking on your Nickname > Achievements > Flight of the Albatross. If you don’t manage to complete a stage on time or would like to purchase a stage, until August 12th from the Achievements window, you can purchase each stage with Golden Eagles which will give you the corresponding rewards.

Aircraft

A bug that caused the camera in “Optical seeker view” to not be pointed towards an active target in Simulator Battles has been fixed.
A bug where activating mouse look caused the helmet-mounted sight to not work when in third-person view has been fixed.

Ground Vehicles

A bug that caused the control of ground vehicles to be partially blocked after an air streak, for example the turret was unable to rotate, and menus would not open if the weapon selector was active at the time of the aircraft’s destruction has been fixed.
A bug that caused barrel smoke (such as the IS-2 (1944)) not deploying smoke properly after being dropped has been fixed.
A bug that made it possible to use thermal imagers in third-person view after leaving the gunner’s sight has been fixed.

Today, we’d like to announce that our upcoming VR spin-off, Aces of Thunder, will be releasing in Q4 2024, and is available to wishlist on Steam!

Aces of Thunder will share a lot of similarities with War Thunder in regards to models and graphics, but it’s built from the ground up as a VR title, and will bring a completely new experience to the skies.

The game will feature more than 20 of the most iconic WW2 fighters, available immediately after purchasing the game. These include the P-51 and P-63, Bf 109 and Fw 190, IL-2 and Yak, Spitfire, A6M3 and more. All will feature highly detailed functional cockpits, you can quite literally grab the controls with your hands! You can also get a real sense of scale from your aircraft by walking around it on the airfield before heading out on a mission.

Battles will take place on 15 maps representing three key theaters of operations: the Eastern Front, Western Europe and the Pacific Ocean. You can take part in online PvP, fighting solo or in a squad, or fight in various single player scenarios.

The game will be compatible with the widest range of VR devices. To control your aircraft you can use the interactive virtual cockpit controls, VR controllers or joysticks.

You can read more about the game on the official page on Steam, as well as on Aces of Thunder pages in social networks.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2754090/Aces_of_Thunder/

Aircraft

The unscheduled Battle Ratings changes with decompression for toptier aircraft have been implemented.
For rank VIII aviation, the set of weapons available without researching any modifications has been updated, the full details are in the unscheduled Battle Rating changes table.
JH-7A — the PL-8 modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
MiG-29 (Germany), MiG-29 (Italy), MiG-29G — the R-27P1 modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
MiG-29 — the R-27R modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
F-16AJ, F-16A ADF, F-16A MLU — the AIM-7M modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
J-8F — the PL-12 modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
Mirage 2000C-S4, Mirage 2000C-S5 — the Matra Super 530F modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
JA37D — the RB71 (DF) modification has been removed, and the cost in Research Points, Silver Lions or Golden Eagles has been compensated.
J-11A — the domestic name of the R-77 missile has been replaced with the export one — RVV-AE.

Naval Vessels

A message about critical damage appearing in naval battles and in the battle results has been fixed.