War Thunder News & Announcements


Welcome to the 151st War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition!

We loved seeing all of your screenshots from last week! This week, Storm Warning was released, and it has brought many new vehicles and a location. Take a screenshot of your favorite new content! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

Let’s begin the 151st edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen151. You have time until the 27th of December 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:

  • Your screenshot must include a vehicle or location introduced in the latest major update, “Storm Warning”.
  • You must add the #WTscreen151 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 150th edition – Propeller Driven!

Winners selected via community votes:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384140127
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384316960
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384269609

Winners selected by our judges:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384868720
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384314977
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384085522

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

It’s time for the winter holidays! And as always, we’ve prepared a bunch of interesting things for you. Receive gifts, take part in the Winter Tales event, treat yourself to discounts, spend Silver Lions on Snow Globes, enjoy the festively decorated hangar and immerse yourself in the winter-themed atmosphere in War Thunder!

Gifts for everyone!
When: From December 20th (11:00 GMT) until January 2nd (11:00 GMT).

Play and meet the criteria to receive each!



“Serpent Warrior” decal
“Christmas Miss Gnome” decoration for ground vehicles
“Flag of the Ded Moroz” ship flag





Play 3 battles using vehicles of Rank III or higher with an activity level of 70% or more.
Destroy 30 enemies while using ground vehicles of Rank III or higher.
Deal 50,000 damage while using naval vessels of Rank III or higher.



Use code “NOSEKRITPLS” in our store here to get yourself a free decal! Important: make sure to login into the game after activating the decal, as if you don’t, it won’t activate on your account at all. This decal can be found under Special > Snails in the decal customization menu.

Open the Snow Globe!
When: From December 18th (11:00 GMT) until January 14th (11:00 GMT).

Purchase Snow Globes for Silver Lions, featuring decals, decorations, vehicles and camouflages from past War Thunder winter events (including in the form of coupons), as well as Silver Lions, boosters, universal backups and wagers and orders.

Snow Globes can also be obtained in the Winter Tales event!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/236390/announcements/detail/547847869991747595

Winter Tales: Get Yourself Some Cool Rewards!
When: From December 20th (11:00 GMT) until January 9th (11:00 GMT).

Take part in battles, earn points, and receive rewards! In the Winter Tales event, you can earn three high-rank vehicles, one low-rank premium, trophies, decorations, decals, a profile icon, and camouflages.



Kfir C.10 Block 60
MB 151






A Rank VIII Event Vehicle for Israel
A Rank I Premium for France




IJN Kirishima
T-80UD (478BE)






A Rank V Event Vehicle for Japan
A Rank VII Event Vehicle for China



Click here to find out more details about the Winter Tales event


In-game Discounts!
When: From December 19th (11:00 GMT) until December 26th (11:00 GMT).

  • 50% discount on vehicles for all nations for Silver Lions and Golden Eagles.*
  • 50% discount on all modifications, talismans and backups.
  • 50% discount on a Premium Account in-game for 90 and 365 days and in the Gaijin.net store for 180 days.


*Discounts do not apply to vehicles released in the Dance of Dragons, Firebirds and Storm Warning major updates, as well as squadron vehicles and modifications, talismans, and backups for these vehicles.


Sale in the Gaijin.Net Store!
We’ll tell you about discounts in the Gaijin.Net store in a separate news post on December 26th. Don’t miss it!


Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!


Let’s have a look at the main aircraft reward for the Winter Tales event, the Israeli export Kfir C.10 Block 60!

Kfir C.10 Block 60: An Event Vehicle Jet Fighter for Israel at Rank VIII
At a glance:

  • Excellent maneuverability!
  • Advanced radar.
  • Helmet-mounted display.
  • ARH air-to-air missiles!
  • Modern guided bombs.

Vehicle History

In the early 1990s, IAI proposed a modernization program for the Kfir C.10 to extend the service life of the Kfir fighter jet and increase the aircraft’s export potential. The project’s main features were a multi-mode radar, an in-flight refueling probe and the ability to carry a wide range of modern weapons. The Israeli Air Force, however, was not interested in the project, but several dozen aircraft were purchased (and also modernized from older Kfir C.2 and C.7 variants) by the Air Forces of Colombia and Ecuador. Kfir C.10 fighters form the backbone of the air force fleets of these countries.




Introducing the Kfir C.10 Block 60

The Kfir C.10 Block 60 is an improved export modification of the Israeli Kfir multi-role fighter for the Colombian Air Force. This new fighter differs from the C.2 and C.7 variants that you may be familiar with, it features a new radar with an active phased array and advanced weapons for air and ground battles. Let’s dive into the details!




Greeting you with a state-of-the-art active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the Kfir C.10 can equip Derby ARH air-to-air missiles that were previously only available on the Israeli F-16s. This means you’ll now be able to start an engagement without visual contact with the target, and when they get closer, use more maneuverable close-range air-to-air missiles, but with a convenient helmet-mounted display system!

Exciting changes also await those of you who want to use the Kfir C.10 in ground battles. Thanks to the LITENING II targeting pod with a thermal imager, the available ground attack weapons will be supplemented by modern guided bombs, including the GBU-49 with satellite and laser guidance, as well as the GBU-12.



In addition to the signature maneuverability of the Mirage family, the Kfir C.10 features modern avionics, including a radar and laser warning system, as well as an onboard missile approach warning system (MAWS) that automatically fires off flares and chaff when an enemy missile approaches. Very useful in air combat!



The Colombian Kfir C.10 is at rank VIII in the Israel aircraft tree, only obtainable in the Winter Tales event. Check out the link below for all the details!

Click here to find out more details about the Winter Tales event


Meet the main tank reward in the Winter Tales event, the Pakistani modification of the T-80UD main battle tank, being added to the Chinese ground forces tree!

T-80UD (478BE): An Event MBT for China at Rank VII
At a glance:

  • Effective protection overall.
  • Autoloader.
  • Thermal sight.
  • Compact fighting compartment.
  • Slow reverse speed.

Vehicle History

The T-80UD was developed as a further evolution of the T-80U model, which had shown issues with its gas turbine engine during operation. The T-80UD modification received a new 1,000 HP diesel engine along with several additional enhancements. It was adopted into service in 1987, and by the late 1990s, over 300 UD models were delivered to Pakistan. The export version, known as the Object 478BE, differed from Soviet versions by lacking an infrared searchlight and a wind sensor, but gained a thermal imager for the gunner.


Introducing the T-80UD (478BE)!

Here’s the main tank reward in the Winter Tales event, an export modification of the T-80UD for the Armed Forces of Pakistan, being added to the Chinese ground forces tree as an event vehicle. Let’s examine the differences compared to the Soviet T-80UD premium and discuss its strengths and weaknesses!



The T-80UD (478BE) is a very well balanced tank overall, with one of its key advantages being protection. While it does have frontal weak spots and is not flawless, its armor is good enough to withstand APFSDS rounds and poorly placed shots. In addition to this, the sides of the T-80UD (478BE) are protected well against autocannons and weaker shells if angled, being one of the few MBT designs with relatively thick side armor. Despite this, if this tank is successfully penetrated, its survivability is typically low. This is because its internal space is cramped, with crew, ammo and modules, meaning any spalling is likely to cause critical or fatal damage.

Regarding firepower, the T-80UD (478BE) is on par with its competitors. It can fire powerful APFSDS rounds — they’re not the most forgiving, but can still easily penetrate the majority of enemy armor without an issue. It can also launch anti-tank guided missiles directly from the gun barrel! A distinctive feature of the Pakistani T-80UD (478BE) is the inclusion of a thermal sight for the gunner, which will help identify targets at long range and at night. While the autoloader does remove the need to maintain loader skills, the fixed reload speed is slightly longer than most contemporary tanks. This is particularly important to keep in mind for one-on-one engagements.



Mobility is fairly average overall, while the speed doesn’t hold the tank back, it can’t reach strong early positions quite as easily as other common MBTs. The largest drawback here however is the reverse speed, capped at 4 km/h, which makes reacting to threats much harder. When you’re playing the T-80UD (478BE), make sure to take extra care when positioning, as it takes much longer to back away from an engagement to reload or repair. 



The T-80UD (478BE) can be obtained by completing tasks during the special Winter Tales event. Follow the link below to see the full list of specifics and rewards, and best of luck!

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

Click here to find out more details about the Winter Tales event


Aircraft

  • EF-2000 — AIM-9M missiles have been added, the AIM-9L/I-1 modification has been replaced with the AIM-9M.
  • AIM-9L/I-1 — the missile engine is no longer smokeless.
  • Alpha Jet TH — Battle Rating in all Air Battle modes has been increased to 10.7. The default weapons preset, available without researching any modifications, has been changed to a set of 2 x AIM-9P4 and a gun pod.
  • F-5A (Thailand) — Battle Rating in Arcade Air Battles and Ground Battles has been reduced to 10.3.
  • Rafale C F-3 — additional wing pylons for MICA-EM missiles are now available. The number of pylons has changed so previously created weapon presets may not be available. MICA-EM missiles in the preset that don’t require researching any modifications have been moved to the new pylons. Available countermeasures have been changed from 32 large caliber countermeasures to 16 large caliber and 36 standard caliber countermeasures.
  • F-15E, F-111F — AGM-130A has been replaced with AGM-130A-12 with infrared seeker.
  • EF-2000, Typhoon FGR.4, F-2000A — a bug that caused the markers of targets tracked in TWS mode to not be displayed on the HUD in Simulator battles has been fixed. (Report).
  • PL-12, MICA-EM, Derby, AAM-4, Р-77, AIM-120A/B — the mistakenly absent angle gating mechanic has been enabled for these missiles with the release of the “Storm Warning” major update.
    How angle gating works: if a target enters the radiation pattern of a seeker’s radar and this new target’s angular coordinates, and therefore angular velocity, differ significantly from the angular coordinates and angular velocity of the previously tracked target, then the guidance system ignores it, switching to the inertial guidance in accordance to last known angular coordinates and angular speed, acquired from the seeker.
    Angle gating helps avoid the re-targeting to any interference that emerges in the radiation pattern of the radar, such as an aircraft, flying near a target with a marginally different distance and/or radial speed, or chaff in some cases. With other parameters being the same, angle gating works better at shorter ranges than at longer ones.
    We’d also like to note that due to the fact that when angle gating starts working due to chaff acquisition, the radar doesn’t see the real target (an aircraft). So now to successfully dodge listed ARH missiles, the target needs to change their trajectory more noticeably than before, so the missile, which is being guided accordingly with the last known target angular coordinates and angular velocity, won’t hit the aircraft. And an even better option is to exit the seeker’s field of view by the time the tracked chaff exits it. In this case, the missile won’t even be able to reacquire the target.
  • F-111F — inability to lock on to a target from 3rd person view with the GBU-15 and AGM-130 has been fixed.
  • F-111F — a bug with the need to open the bomb bay when launching an AGM-130 has been fixed.

Ground Vehicles

  • Centauro 105 (all variants) — the size of the carried ammunition has been reduced from 40 to 38 rounds. There was a discrepancy between the number of rounds in the X-ray and in the stat card. The first-stage ammunition has been reduced by two rounds, from 16 to 14.
  • Sholef — the first-stage ammo stowage mechanic has been added. Gun reload time has been set to 7.5s for the first two shots and 11.9s after.
  • PzH 2000, PzH 2000HU — the first-stage ammo stowage mechanic has been added. Gun reload time has been set to 5s for the first two shots and 7.5s after.
  • 9M331, HQ-17 — a bug that caused tank IRCM to affect guidance of these SAMs has been fixed.

Naval Vessels

  • Zerstorer Z4 — the flag in the ship’s stat card has been changed to the post-war one.
  • IJN Haruna — a bug where the aft group of the main caliber turrets fired in the opposite direction has been fixed.

Interface

  • Display of showcases in the player profile has been improved. At “Medium” and “Large” interface scale, all elements are visible without scrolling.
  • A bug where clicking on a showcase in edit mode would cause editing to end without saving has been fixed.
  • A bug where pressing the Esc key in a profile window while in edit mode would close the profile window instead of exiting edit mode has been fixed.
  • A bug where clicking on a mode or type of showcase did not enable editing mode has been fixed.
  • In the “Favorite vehicle” showcase, the statistics for the number of respawns has been moved to the first line.

Graphics

  • A bug where when using SSAO, aircraft reflections on parts of the aircraft were overly pixelated has been fixed.
  • A bug where the tracks of stationary ground vehicles could be blurred when motion blur was enabled has been fixed.

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.


The holiday period is upon us and it’s nearly the new year which means it’s time to add some new vehicles to your collection! Treat yourself or your friends to vehicles, consumables and a Premium Account before December 26th to take advantage of this holiday offer.

In-game Discounts!

When: From December 19th (11:00 GMT) until December 26th (11:00 GMT).

  • 50% discount on vehicles for all nations for Silver Lions and Golden Eagles.
  • 50% discount on all modifications, talismans and backups.
  • 50% discount on a Premium Account in-game for 90 and 365 days and in the Gaijin.net store for 180 days.

Discounts do not apply to vehicles released in the Dance of Dragons, Firebirds and Storm Warning major updates, as well as squadron vehicles and modifications, talismans, and backups for these vehicles.

After this sale ends, discounts on vehicle packs will begin in the Gaijin.Net store — we’ll tell you about them separately on December 26th!


Meet the Japanese Kirishima Battleship, a sister ship to the famous Kongō with different weapons and its own character!

IJN Kirishima: An Event Vehicle Battleship for Japan at Rank V
At a glance:

  • Eight 356 mm main battery guns!
  • Good mobility.
  • Numerous secondary weapons.
  • Mediocre protection.

Vehicle History

IJN Kirishima was a Kongō-class battlecruiser for the Imperial Japanese Navy. This ship was laid down in 1912 and commissioned in 1915. After a major overhaul in 1927, the ship was reclassified as a battleship. The next major overhaul was the 1934 program, which, among other things, more than doubled the power of the propulsion system. IJN Kirishima was not actively used before World War II, but was actively used after its outbreak. During the Battle of Guadalcanal, she was shot at close range by the American battleship Washington and sank on November 15th 1942.




Introducing IJN Kirishima!

The Kirishima battleship will be the main naval reward in the Winter Tales event, coming in for Japan as an event vehicle at rank V. IJN Kirishima is the sister ship of the famous Kongō battleship, which has long been loved by those who play Bluewater fleet ships, but is in the configuration at the time of her destruction in 1942, meaning she differs from the lead ship of the class in terms of her weapon loadout. Let’s take a closer look!



Undoubtedly, one of the main advantages of the Kongō class is the powerful main caliber armament, with the Kirishima not being an exception here. Eight 356 mm caliber guns in four turrets with a top crew can fire two salvos a minute! These guns being able to fire high-explosive, armor-piercing or semi-armor-piercing shells that are capable of hitting any target at all firing ranges. Unlike IJN Kongō, IJN Kirishima has more auxiliary guns — 14 placements with 152 mm guns that each are rapid-fire and have good guidance. Despite this upgrade, there’s less anti-aircraft guns though. Four placements with twin 127 mm guns are responsible for long-range defense, however on close approaches, enemy aircraft will be met with ten twin 25 mm cannons. This is still quite good, however if you’re accustomed to the guns on the Kongō, the anti-aircraft weaponry on the Kirishima will not feel great when being attacked by aircraft.



Speed is another advantage of the Kongō class. IJN Kirishima has good maneuverability for its class — it can quickly reach its max speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h), maneuvers easily and behaves like a cruiser. As is usually the case, high speed is normally achieved by reducing the weight of the armor. Kirishima’s protection is not bad, as it can successfully survive salvos from armor-piercing shells from cruisers and early battleships when maneuvering with allies. But caught at short distances without cover, Kirishima has no chance against the guns of battleships and most heavy cruisers. In battle, make sure to be careful and avoid getting into trouble, as your team will need your salvos to defeat the most dangerous opponents, so avoid being hit for as long as possible. This is easier said than done though.



IJN Kirishima can be obtained during the Winter Tales event! Be sure to follow the link below to learn more about this event and its other rewards.

Click here to find out more details about the Winter Tales event


Welcome to the 9th edition of the War Thunder Steam Community Spotlight!

The War Thunder Steam Community Management Team have seen some of your fantastic screenshots and artwork uploaded to the Steam Community Hub! Once again, we’ve collected our favorites and wanted to share them with all of you. Want more? Also check out the previous 8 editions for more cool content.

We have also picked our favorites from the list below to receive the special “Steam Snail” decal. Check Customization > Special > Snails > “Steam Snail” to see if you have it.





Let’s take a look!


An excellent King Tiger on its way to Normandy, excellent diorama!

By Bas {NL}





A Maus made of sand? That’s exactly what this is, the name inscription “WT” is also written, great job here!

By bomber31





In one of our latest updates we updated the tracer effects, meaning they can do this beautiful love heart in the sky! Nice one.

By Ayelén♥





An excellent drawing of the Type 59, which took the author 6 hours to draw!

By Mr.milk





A homemade LEGO Centauro I 120 in front of the one from the game, amazing work here!

By TAL4FAIL





1:100 scale diorama Japanese STB under a blossom tree. Looks awesome!

By Cotocwart





An amazing IJN Fuso in the background with a scale model of it in the foreground. This is really amazing!

By Yamamoto-56





A cool angle of the P-47 doing a bombing run. Nice!

By Aiden O'Malley





Flying above the clouds during sunset. Beautiful!

By WD-40 Energy Drink





The Challenger 2 out on patrol in the snow. Cool atmosphere here!

By Gaming Weird





Another beautiful sunset from the cockpit!

By Motizie





A pretty screenshot of the JAS37 in front of the sun and between two mountains!

By Sjorriemonke





A tiny IS-3 in the foreground and IS-3 in-game in the background. Nice contrast!

By Рядовой козке





The SU-25 in the foreground and background. Nice model!

By Рядовой козке





This is an awesome P-51 “In The Mood” drawing! A mechanical pencil was used.

By danidew





An artistic F4U-4B Corsair, we love this style!

By Cotoplay





“The Beauty of Mustang”, great angle here.

By verberger81





A really cool drawing of the M3 Bradley, well done!

By LawrenceXVIII





We recently added the PzH2000, so what better way to show this awesome model of it!

By Pvt.Snafu





An amazing drawing of the Rooikat MTTD and Centauro I 120 on Maginot Line!

By random_mesincuci





The AM-1 Mauler on a torpedo strke attack, excellent art here.

By Sasoushii





An Su-100 doing Su-100 things in a diorama. Nice!

By Cotocwart





Awesome animated pixel art of the BM-31-12!

By M777 155mm Towed Howitzer





A formidable looking Panther D in 1/35 scale painted in an awesome camouflage.

By R^bbit-74



That's all for now!

The wonderful work created by our community that we have shared has been posted to the War Thunder Community Hub — make sure you check it out and even share your own creations that we may feature here in the Community Spotlight! We look forward to seeing you next time!

Click here to view the Community Hub


We’re constantly working on removing cheaters from War Thunder. We rely on anti-cheat systems to check for prohibited software usage, as well as on reports from players that we carefully go through. You can use the replay service on our website to report players to us who have violated the Terms of Service and the License Agreement of the game.

Banned accounts
Since our last fair play, we’ve blocked 7,106 accounts that were found to have violated the rules. Specifically 3.2.3 of the EULA namely in the automation of gameplay (using bots) and cheat software.

For complete transparency, we’re publishing the full list of these blocked players. This list will be available for two weeks after the publication of this article.

List

Recommendations
We’d like to remind you to abide to the rules to keep up the friendly and competitive atmosphere in the game.

As always, we also recommend that you set a strong password for your account and enable two-step authentication in your profile security settings. We have the following 2FA options available: email, SMS, TOTP (Gaijin Pass/Google Authenticator), and Telegram bot, which we suggest trying if SMS 2FA messages are not reaching you.

We’d also suggest that you turn on 2FA for the email that is linked to your account for additional security. This will protect your account from fraudsters. And remember, don’t break the rules and never share your account information with anyone!

The War Thunder Team


A snow globe is a traditional holiday decoration and a great gift during the winter season. You can now treat yourself to one in War Thunder — only this one will bring you magical rewards when you open it!

The Snow Globe can be purchased in the in-game Item Shop for Silver Lions from December 18th (11:00 GMT) until January 14th (11:00 GMT). It can only be purchased by players who have at least one researchable vehicle at rank II or higher on their account.


What’s in the Snow Globe?
The Snow Globe will reward you with vehicles, camouflages, decals, decorations and player profile icons from previous winter events, plus useful consumables, including boosters, universal backups, wagers and orders. Some items are here for the first time as coupons, meaning you’ll be able to sell them on the Market!



The Snow Globe can be purchased for 60,000 Silver Lions.

On January 14th (12:00 GMT), all Snow Globes will disappear from your inventory, so make sure open them before then!

Some rewards you can find in the Snow Globe:



"Christmas tree victory marks" decal
"Snowboarder" Player Icon
"Pin-up pilot (Japan)" decal





"Christmas Gnome" decoration
“Sparkler” decoration
"Cuckoo clock" decoration









TIS MA
USS Mississippi
QF 3.7 Ram




The “Snow Globe” contains the following rewards (open spoiler)

Vehicles (both immediately activated on the account and available as coupons)

  • Mirage 2000C-S4
  • Vilkas
  • USS Mississippi
  • J9 Early (only direct to the account)
  • Tornado IDS MFG
  • T-80UM2
  • USS Newport News
  • Late 298D (only direct to the account)
  • MiG-23MF (Germany)
  • C. 202D (only direct to the account)
  • AGS
  • A.C.I (only direct to the account)
  • IJN Hayanami (only direct to the account)
  • MPK Pr.201K
  • MiG-21PFM
  • Ro.57 Quadriarma (only direct to the account)
  • Class 3 (P)
  • E.B.R. (1954) (only direct to the account)
  • USS Baltimore
  • Type K-8 No.13 (only direct to the account)
  • TIS MA
  • J6K1
  • Merkava Mk.2B (USA)
  • QF 3.7 Ram
  • Jaguar
  • PT-811
  • Fw 190 C
  • M.B.152C1
  • T30
  • SU-85A
  • PBM-3 “Mariner” (only direct to the account)
  • Leningrad (only direct to the account)
  • P-40C
  • NC.900 (only direct to the account)
  • Ersatz M10 (only direct to the account)
  • AEC Mk II
  • Me 262 A-2a
  • Ki-21-I hei
  • LVT(A)(4) ZIS-2 (USA)
  • Type 62 (USSR)*
  • P-63C-5 (USSR) (only direct to the account)
  • VK 45.01 (P)
  • M8A1 GMC
  • I-301


* the chances of receiving the Type 62 (USSR) are far lower than the other vehicles and are around 0.001%.

All vehicles will be immediately credited to your account, but there’s a chance to get it in the form of a coupon unless otherwise specified.

Camouflages (coupons only)

  • Mirage 2000C-S4: "Vendée" camouflage (first time as a coupon)
  • Vilkas: Tricolor spotted camouflage (first time as a coupon)
  • USS Mississippi: Tricolor geometric camouflage (first time as a coupon)
  • Tornado IDS MFG: Anniversary camouflage MFG 2
  • T-80UM2: Bicolor summer camouflage
  • USS Newport News: Deforming camouflage
  • MiG-23MF (Germany): Tricolor camouflage
  • AGS: Snow w/Open Terrain camouflage MERDC
  • MPK Pr.201K: Deforming camouflage
  • MiG-21PFM: Demonstration camouflage
  • Class 3 (P): PATRIA camouflage
  • USS Baltimore: Deforming camouflage Design 33 16D
  • TIS MA: Bicolor green camouflage
  • J6K1: Experimental camouflage
  • Merkava Mk.2B (USA): Tricolor camouflage
  • QF 3.7 Ram: Late bicolor camouflage
  • Jaguar: Deforming camouflage Bow sea
  • PT-811: Deforming camouflage Design 20L
  • Fw 190 C: Nonstandard tricolor camouflage
  • M.B.152C1: Early camouflage
  • T30: Winter verdant camouflage MERDC
  • SU-85A: Bicolor summer camouflage
  • P-40C: Olive-green camouflage


Decorations (both immediately activated on your account and available as coupons)

  • Snowbike (first time as a coupon)
  • Ratrack (first time as a coupon)
  • New Year's sign (first time as a coupon)
  • Christmas gnome
  • Christmas sleigh
  • Christmas mill
  • Cuckoo watch
  • Christmas sock
  • Christmas deer
  • New Year Tree
  • Snowman
  • Sparkler
  • Snowboard
  • Snowshoe
  • Biathlon rifle
  • Ice Climber’s Backpack
  • Snowmobile NKL-16/41
  • DUKW
  • Assault rifle with grenade launcher (USSR)
  • Assault rifle with grenade launcher (China)
  • Assault rifle with grenade launcher (Germany)
  • Assault rifle with grenade launcher (Britain)
  • Assault rifle (Sweden)
  • Carl Gustaf M/45
  • Assault rifle (China)
  • Type 63
  • Assault rifle (Japan)
  • Assault rifle (USA)
  • Assault rifle (Britain)
  • Assault rifle (Germany)
  • Assault rifle (France)
  • Assault rifle (USSR)
  • Christmas Wreath
  • Sleigh
  • Ski
  • Skates


Decals (both immediately activated on your account and available as coupons):

  • "Ice cross downhill" decal
  • "Kitewing" decal
  • "Freestyle" decal
  • "Snowkiting" decal
  • "Snowmobiling" decal
  • "Dragon Warrior" decal (only direct to the account)
  • “We can climb it” decal
  • “Christmas Lights” decal
  • “Powder Day” decal
  • “Secret Santa” decal
  • “Times to Travel” decal
  • Metal Bull (only direct to the account)
  • “Raging Tiger” decal (only direct to the account)
  • Battle Rabbit (only direct to the account)
  • “Warrior of the North” decal
  • “Warrior of the Slavs” decal
  • “Desert Warrior” decal
  • “Guard Warrior” decal
  • “Warrior of the Rising Sun” decal
  • “The Sherwood Warrior” decal
  • “Warrior of the East” decal
  • “Legion Warrior” decal
  • Pin-up pilot China
  • Pin-up pilot Sweden
  • Pin-up pilot Italy
  • New Year’s pin-up (China)
  • New Year’s pin-up (France)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Germany)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Italy)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Japan)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Sweden)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Britain)
  • New Year’s pin-up (USA)
  • New Year’s pin-up (Russia)
  • Pin-up pilot USA
  • Pin-up pilot Russia
  • Pin-up pilot Britain
  • Pin-up pilot Japan
  • Pin-up pilot Germany
  • Pin-up pilot France
  • Shark Jaws (1)
  • Shark Jaws (2)
  • Shark Jaws (3)
  • Shark Jaws (4)
  • “Christmas tree” victory marks
  • Xmas Rocket
  • Xmas Sock
  • Xmas Tree


Profile Icons (will be immediately activated on your account and in the form of the coupons)

  • Snowboarder (first time as a coupon)
  • Winter Pilot


Aerobatic Smokes (only activated on your account)

  • New Year Aerobatic Smoke


Naval Flags (only activated on your account)

  • New Year's flag


Silver Lions

  • 10000 — 1000000


Expendable items

  • Battle trophy (Research points booster)
  • Battle trophy (Silver lions booster)
  • Universal backup
  • Universal backup x2
  • Universal backup x3
  • Random wager
  • Random order



Ground Vehicles

  • RDF/LT — the rate of fire has been increased from 45 to 70 RPM. Source: AAI RDF/LT Booklet // Extended Area Protection & Survivability (EAPS) Gun and Ammunition Design Trade Study.
  • HSTV-L — the rate of fire has been increased from 45 to 60 RPM. Source: Hearings on Military Posture H.R.6495 // Department of Defense Appropriations for 1984 (July 6th, 1983) // Heat Transfer and Erosion in the ARES 75mm High Velocity Cannon - Vol II.
  • M44 — a bug where it was possible to fire the anti-aircraft machine gun when the machine gunner lost consciousness has been fixed. The crew transfer order has been corrected.
  • Flak Sfl. / M44 and Ostwind / Wirbelwind — icons for the groups have been fixed.

Aircraft

  • Rafale, EF-2000, Typhoon FGR.4, F-2000A — additional camouflages have been added. They are available by completing missions and/or can be purchased with Golden Eagles.

Locations

  • Attica — collision on some buildings has been fixed.

Interface

  • A bug where the list of vehicles for the “Favorite vehicles” profile showcase displayed vehicles that were not on the account has been fixed.

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.


Meet the M.B.151C.1 French fighter, one of the aircraft rewards in the Winter Tales event!

M.B.151C.1: A Premium Fighter for France at Rank I
At a glance:

  • Good top speed!
  • Robust construction.
  • Easy to control.
  • Weak forward armament.

 
Vehicle History

The Marcel-Bloch M.B.151C.1 fighter was considered by the French Air Force as a temporary solution until the more advanced Dewoitine fighters were adopted. During the testing phase, its characteristics proved to be insufficiently effective and the MB.151C.1 was almost immediately transferred to training units. Nevertheless, these aircraft still took part in World War II — they were used until they switched to the more modern Dewoitine D.520. German pilots also used some captured MB.151C.1 aircraft for training. Greece ordered 25 MB.151C.1s, but only nine aircraft were delivered, from which the 24th Squadron of the Greek Air Force was formed. These fighters took part in the defense of Greece during the Italian invasion (October 1940 to April 1941).




Introducing the M.B.151C.1!

One of the aircraft rewards in the Winter Tales event is the M.B.151C.1 fighter, a premium rank I French aircraft! A cool classic that’s sure to win the hearts of propeller driven plane fans, let’s take a closer look.




The M.B.151C.1 is a classic, pre-war monoplane with a good maximum speed, retractable landing gear and a fairly strong hull compared to biplanes. However, it’s weakly armed, featuring only four rifle-caliber machine guns in the wings, meaning it might be a little trickier to destroy enemy fighters in one pass and attacks on bombers might take a while longer to destroy. Definitely use the Universal belts for the MAC 1934 machine guns which contain an equal number of rounds with armor-piercing and incendiary belts. 





The M.B.151C.1 premium aircraft is a good choice to quickly start mastering French aircraft and will help to research ranks I and II of the French aviation tree. Take a look at the full list of rewards in the Winter Tales event through the link below!

Click here to find out more details about the Winter Tales event


Ground Vehicles

  • Strela-10M, Strela-10M2 — a bug where it was not possible to launch missiles after repairing has been fixed.

Aircraft

  • Typhoon FGR.4, F-2000A — display time of radar contacts in TWS tracking mode has been increased.

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.


The HQ17 SAM vehicle has arrived at the end of the Chinese ground forces research tree in a group with the Tor-M1.

HQ17: An SPAA (SAM) for China at Rank VIII
At a glance:

  • Increased missile launch range and guidance time.
  • Thermal imager.
  • Capable of tracking and hitting two targets simultaneously.
  • Barely any protection.

Vehicle History

In the 1990s, China purchased the Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia. However, a number of shortcomings were revealed during its operation, including difficulties in conducting combat operations at night since it lacked a night vision device. In 2005, the Chinese government decided to develop a new air defense system, the HQ17. It was based on the Tor-M1 but had improved functionality. Development lasted 10 years and was completed in 2015. The HQ17 series of air defense systems are currently in service with the PLA as the main medium-range air defense system.




Introducing the HQ17!

Today we’d like to talk about the HQ17, added to the Chinese ground forces tree this week in the Storm Warning major update, in a group with the Tor-M1. Despite the external similarities, the HQ17, which was developed entirely in China offers several improvements. Let’s take a look!




The HQ17 certainly looks familiar — that’s because it’s based on the Russian Tor-M1 SAM vehicle that’s already present in the game, but improved to meet the needs of the PLA. The HQ17 features a thermal imager, significantly helping when identifying and tracking targets in poor weather conditions or darkness. It also features a modernized missile! This new missile has a greater launch range and guidance time compared to the 9M331 missile found on the Tor-M1.

Important note from us: In the research tree, the HQ17 and Tor-M1 have been put into a group together.




In addition to the above, the HQ17 has a new phased array target acquisition radar with greater range, pattern and scanning angle. Much like the Tor-M1, it has the ability to track and fire at two targets simultaneously or guide two missiles to a single target.



Generally, the playstyle of the HQ17 is similar to the Tor-M1. Obviously the main and only role is to engage aircraft as it is unwise to fire the missiles at ground vehicles. With the radar deployed, the HQ17 can quite easily be spotted and as it only has bulletproof armor, so tactical positioning is vital. This vehicle is effective against all types of aircraft, with the ability to fire two missiles at a target at once being especially valuable. Keep in mind when playing the HQ17 that it can only carry 8 missiles in total.

That’s it for this dev blog! The HQ17 is already available to unlock as part of the Storm Warning major update. Give it a try, and have some fun!


Aircraft

  • Rafale C F3-R — incorrect update frequency of data on targets tracked in TWS mode has been fixed.
  • Rafale C F3-R — the notification to retract flaps has been turned off due to being uninformative, as the aircraft has semi-automatic mechanization configuration.
  • EF-2000 — incorrect display of the RWR page on the MFD in the cockpit has been fixed.
  • EF-2000 — a bug that sometimes caused the aircraft to be able to fly through the ground has been fixed. (Report).
  • EF-2000, Typhoon GR.4, F-2000A — lift-induced drag at high speeds and in the landing configuration has been decreased.
  • F-15E — a bug that caused AGM-130 to overlap with AIM-120 has been fixed.
  • Alpha Jet A (Thailand), Alpha Jet TH (Thailand) — a bug that caused some HUD elements to change color when switching lights in the cockpit has been fixed.

Ground Vehicles

  • An issue with object synchronization that could cause vegetation and other objects to regenerate after being destroyed has been fixed.
  • VBCI — internal module errors and inaccuracies have been fixed. Filling of the VBCI with modules is not yet final. We are still working on the modules as well as on corrections to some other existing discrepancies.
  • VBCI — the front fuel tank has been made external.
  • VBCI — a bug where the antennas were floating in the air has been fixed. (Report).
  • VBCI — a bug that caused the coaxial machine gun to not elevate has been fixed. (Report).
  • M44 — various model fixes.
  • Namer Tsrikhon — a bug that made the electronics module act as armor has been fixed.
  • PzH 2000, PzH 2000HU — the discrepancy between the back and front sides of the engine deck partition has been fixed. A bug that caused the crew skills to affect the reload speed has been fixed.
  • HQ17 — a bug where the gunner’s sight was covered by textures when raising the camera has been fixed. (Report).

Naval Vessels

  • HMS Rodney — ship sinking parameters have been adjusted.
  • RN Ghibli — the distribution of anti-aircraft gun ammunition has been adjusted.

Interface

  • New tactical map functionality has been added to test drives.

Graphics

  • A bug where the bottom of an aircraft could be reflected on the top when using screen space reflections (SSR) has been fixed. (Report).
  • The transition between water and shore has been visually improved. Incorrect appearance of shallow water in foggy weather has been fixed.

Controls

  • A rare client crash caused by complex key bindings made by the player that occurred when pressing certain keys has been fixed. (Report).

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.


Welcome to Storm Warning!
Meet Storm Warning, War Thunder’s last major update of 2024.

Storm Warning brings with it the highly anticipated Eurofighter Typhoon joining the ranks of Germany, Great Britain and Italy in three different variants, plus the Rafale for France! Following this is a line of Thai aircraft for Japan, reinforcing the ranks in this nation with capable fighter and attacker capability. Next up is the M44 for six nations, providing them with fun 155 mm howitzer firepower. In addition to this is the excellent PzH 2000 for Germany and Italy, and several battleships and destroyers for some nations, including the Archangelsk, a Royal Navy ship in service with the Soviet Union. Rounding out the update is Attica, a stunning new location for Ground Battles.

Check out the changelog to see the fixes, vehicles and other features that we’ve included in this major update.



Please feel free to leave your feedback on this Major update in the feedback thread here.

Ground Vehicles: 155 mm Howitzer Glory!
Storm Warning features the M44 for six nations (list below), providing them each with a capable short 155 mm gun to have some fun with at the midranks! Next up is the PzH 2000 for Germany and Italy, providing excellent long-barrelled 155 mm fun as well. The premium RDF-LT and BMD-4M for the USA and USSR respectively bring them some excellent light tank firepower. And finally a brand-new, unique pack featuring three WW2 classics: two Tiger Is and an Ostwind II, designed for starting Germany with a capable lineup. Check out the full list below!


RDF-LT (Pack)






PzH 2000
VBCI








M44
Tigers Ost/West, Ostwind Ost




USA


Germany

  • M44
  • Strela-10M
  • PzH 2000
  • Tiger Ost (Pack)
  • Tiger West (Pack)
  • Ostwind Ost (Pack)

USSR


Great Britain

  • Strela-10M
  • M44









Japan

  • M44



China

  • T-26 — model has been updated.
  • HQ17

Italy

France



Sweden

  • CV90 Mk.4

Israel

  • Namer Tsrikhon




Aircraft: Storm Warning, the Typhoon and Rafale!
The theme of the update, the Eurofighter Typhoon now comes for Germany, Great Britain and Italy in the form of a unique variant for each! Japan has been reinforced with aircraft from Thailand, providing some excellent aircraft for this nation, from jet attackers to fighters. In tandem with the Typhoon, France has the excellent Rafale jet fighter. In a squadron? The USSR now has a new squadron vehicle, the Su-33. Check out the full list below!


EF-2000, Typhoon FGR.4, F-2000A


Rafale C F3






Thai Aircraft
Su-33 (Squadron Vehicle)




Germany

USSR

Great Britain



Japan
Thailand subtree:

  • F-84G-21-RE
  • Alpha Jet A
  • F-5A
  • F-5T SCU
  • F-16A OCU
  • JAS39C
  • A-7E
  • AV-8S Late

Italy


France




Helicopters: A Premium Dutch Helicopter for France
The AH-64D attacker helicopter used by the Netherlands has been added to France as a premium pack, allowing you to research this heli tree quicker. Plus, the Rooivalk and Superhind for Great Britain have been given superb detailed cockpits.



Great Britain

  • Rooivalk Mk1F CSH — detailed cockpit has been added.
  • Super Hind — detailed cockpit has been added.

France

  • AH-64D (Pack)







Naval Fleet: Battleships, Destroyers, Aircraft Carrier!
Storm Warning features a plethora of larger ships, including La Galissonnière, HMS Rodney with 16 inch guns, the premium Z4 Zerstörer and Archangelsk, a former Royal Navy ship in service with the Soviet Union. Plus, the highly detailed Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has been added to test flights for aircraft.


La Galissonnière



Germany

  • Z4 Zerstörer (Premium)
  • Ersatz Yorck

USSR

  • Archangelsk


Great Britain

  • HMS Rodney




Italy

  • RN Ghibli

France




Locations & Missions: Attica For Ground Battles!
Attica is based on the bright landscapes of the south-east of Greece and is a suitable and colorful place for Ground Battles! This map has now been added to the map rotation.


Attica

Tactical Map Improvements
The tactical map is a very important aspect of War Thunder battles. In Storm Warning, we’ve gone ahead and made some improvements to it. If you’re playing Ground Battles and driving a ground vehicle or flying an aircraft, press “M” on your keyboard to open it — at the bottom right you can select to move the map around or switch to the map type to either air or ground. Plus, if you’re in an aircraft, you can set a “point of interest” on the map that’ll show as a square box. Great for marking targets for yourself!

Player Card Showcase Additions
Some new showcases, including Battle-Hardened, Atomic Ace and Peacemaker have been added to the Player Card window. Click the “Edit” button in this window to change them. More details on each one can be found in the major changelog below.

There’s plenty more to see!
That’s it for this news, but be sure to check out the full list of changes in the provided changelog, as there’s many bug fixes, improvements and additional vehicle changes not mentioned here. Let us know what you think and be sure to leave your feedback on our forums and official social media channels — we’d love to hear. That’s all for 2024 War Thunder major updates. We hope you enjoy!



New locations and missions

  • Attica — a new location for Ground Battles.

Location and mission updates

  • In Ground Battles locations, old concrete airfields have been replaced with new ones.
  • Air Realistic and Air Arcade Battles:

    • Tickets for ground vehicles are deducted from the team only if the vehicle is destroyed by a player. If the ground vehicle is destroyed by bots, victory points are not deducted.
    • AI attackers (that appear 4 minutes into the session) now prefer to attack tanks (leaving easier targets for players) rather than attacking everything indiscriminately as before.
    • The death of an AI attacker now takes away victory points only if it was destroyed by a player. Death by anti-aircraft guns, crashing into the ground or being shot down by a bot does not affect victory points anymore.

Ground Vehicle model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

  • New modules (electrical equipment, driver modules etc) have been added to the following vehicles: Strela-10M2, Falcon, M247, Centauro 105 (all variants).
  • Object 140 — shell ejection animation has been added. (Report).
  • T1E1 — armor has been converted to volumetric armor.
  • FlaRakPz 1, FlaRakRad, XM975, Osa-AK, OSA-AKM, 2S6, Pantsir-S1, ItO 90M — An indicator has been added to the radar scope that shows the position of your own missiles.
  • Khrizantema-S — MTI mode has been added to the radar.
  • OF-40 Mk.2A, OF-40 (MTCA) — the optical rangefinder module has been removed from X-ray view. (Report).
  • Ka-Mi — fuel tank model has been corrected. (Report).
  • ADATS (M113) — the position of the missile launch tubes have been corrected. (Report).
  • Sherman Firefly (all variants) — gun depression angle has been changed from -5/+25 degrees to -4.5/+21 degrees. (Report).
    Source: Sherman "C" Tanks. Armament.
  • 105/25 M43, M43 "G.C.Leoncello", 75/34 M43, 75/46 M43 — casemate frontal armor thickness has been reduced from 75 to 70 mm.
    Sources: Prot.118692, Ministero della Guerra, Gabinetto, 2 aprile 1943 (Official document of adoption in service of the Semovente da 105/25, published in "Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell'esercito italiano, volume secondo 1940-1945" Pignato, Cappellano, page 372); Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell'esercito italiano, volume secondo 1940-1945" Pignato, Cappellano, page 377; Kennenblatter fremden gerats D50/12, november 1943 (Italian translation published by Pignato in "I mezzi corazzati italiani nelle schede di riconoscimento italiane e tedesche", pages 84, 86, 87); "Italian armour in German service" D. Gugliemi, pages 124, 126, 127; "Carro M, volume primo", A. Tallillo, D. Guglielmi, page 80.
  • OF-40, OF-40 Mk.2A, OF-40 (MTCA) — maximum forward speed has been reduced from 65 to 60 km/h and reverse speed has been reduced from 25 to 24 km/h.
    Sources: Carro da combattimento medio OF 40. Documento Nr. 2071, 1981; Carro Armato OF 40 MK2A Manuale Dell’operatore.
  • SPz 12-3 LGS, Raketenautomat — transmission gear ratios have been changed.
    Source: Hispano-Suiza HS30 Tank with Standardized Chassis and Variable Superstructure, 1962. Factory information booklet.
  • KF41 — anti-aircraft machine gun aiming speed has been increased from 90°/s to 120°/s both horizontally and vertically.
    Source: MSSA Brochure by Rheinmetall.
  • KF41 — the turret aiming speeds have been changed. Vertical speed has been reduced from 60°/s to 51.56°/s and the horizontal speed has been reduced from 60°/s to 57.29°/s.
    Sources: LANCE2 Turret Brochure by Rheinmetall; BOXER LANCE Brochure by Rheinmetall.
  • Magach 7C — the armor material of the side screens has been changed from structural steel to rolled homogeneous armor. (Report).
  • Tiger E, Tigris — limited gun depression angles in the rear hemisphere have been fixed. (Report).
  • Type 93 — the vehicle’s turning radius has been reduced from 8.5 to 5.6 meters.
    Sources: 高機動車ＧＷ－Ｄ０１１００１Ｙ; 2000年5月メガクルーザー.
  • AMD.35, AMD.35 (SA35), Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK — brake operation causing the vehicle to drift when breaking has been fixed. (Report).
  • Centauro I 120, Centauro I 105 R, Centauro I 105 — the turning radius of the vehicle has been reduced from 11 to 9 meters.
    Source: Centauro I 105/120 Datasheet.
  • M60A1 (AOS), M60A1 RISE (P), M60A1 “D.C.Ariete” — the reverse speed value has been changed from 11.3 to 8.3 km\h.
    Source: TM 9-2350-257-20-2-3-1 - Organizational Maintenance Manual. Turret for Tank, Combat, Full-Tracked, 105-mm Gun, M60A1 (RISE) and M60A1 (RISE Passive).
  • PUMA VJTF — the driver’s night sight has been changed to thermal imager. (Report).
  • VBCI-2 (MCT30) — the ammunition capacity of the M2HB machine gun has been reduced from 2000 to 600 rounds.
    Source: Kongsberg, Protector Remote Weapon Station.
  • HJ-9, 9M133, 9M133FM-3 — flight model and autopilot have been updated.

Aircraft and helicopter model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Weaponry

  • Lincoln B.Mk.II — for the upper 20 mm Hispano Mk.V defensive cannon, the amount of rounds has been increased from 700 to 722.
    Source: Avro Lincoln B1 & 2 Flight manual.
  • Super Etendard — the ability to use the GBU-12 on the outer wing pylons has been added. The ability to use the Phimat countermeasure pod has been added. (Report, Report).
  • 13.2 mm Type 3 machine gun — the machine gun belts have been changed. The AP-I and API-T rounds have been removed. (Report).
  • Su-34 — the FAB-1500M-46 bomb has been replaced by the FAB-1500M-54.
  • 30 mm Type 30-1 cannon — the rate of fire has been reduced from 1000 rpm to 850 rpm. (Report).
    Sources: Norinco Compilation of products. Guns; Самолёт МиГ-21Ф-13 II, Оборонгиз 1963.
  • Yak-28B — M-46 series bombs have been replaced with the M-54 series.
  • Su-34 — FAB-3000M-54 and FAB-3000 UMPK bombs and the corresponding modification have been added. The ability to equip Grom-2, UPAB-500, KAB-500LG on the central underfuselage pylon has been added.
  • F-15I Ra’am — AGM-65D and the corresponding modification has been added.
  • F-15E, F-111F — AGM-130 guided bomb has been added.
  • Kurnass, Kurnass 2000 — the GBU-15(V)1/B guided bomb has been added.
  • Mirage 2000D-RMV — the AASM 250 family of guided bombs and corresponding modifications have been added. PGM-500 bomb modification no longer requires researching the GBU-12/49 modification.
  • Tornado GR.4 — the ability to carry BOL countermeasure pods on the underwing hardpoints and a corresponding modification have been added. (Report). The ability to carry Brimstone (SAL) missiles on underwing hardpoints has been added.
  • BK-27, ADEN25, Akan m/85, GAU-12/U — the fuze sensitivity has been reduced for APHE, SAP and PELE projectiles to be similar to other projectiles of the same type. Previously there was a chance that these projectiles passed through aircraft without triggering the fuze.

Other

  • MiG-21S (R-13-300) — a bug where the ejection seat was not displayed in third person view has been fixed. (Report). Display of the IR visor in the aircraft cockpit has been fixed. (Report).
  • Yak-9U, Yak-9UT — the coolant tank has been added to X-ray view.
    Sources: Системы оборудования силовых установок самолетов; Самолет Як-9У с двигателем ВК-107А. Техническое описание.
  • Su-34 — a bug where the drop tanks were not dropped in the correct order has been fixed. (Report).
  • F-20A — pilot model has been replaced with a more modern version. (Report).
  • Mirage 2000D-R1 — an incorrect adapter used with the centerline GBU-16 guided bomb has been removed. (Report).
  • J-10A, JF-17 — an indication of target tracked with a radar has been added to the HUD.
  • Su-27 and other aircraft using the ILS-31 HUD — new elements have been added to the HUD: tracked target altitude, tracked target aspect angle, tracked target closing speed, and an indicator that shows whether the radar is active. (Report).
  • A radar tracked target marker has been added to several HUDs. If the target is outside the HUD viewing zone (Target Locator Line), the target marker will remain at the edge of the HUD viewing zones and blink, indicating the direction to the target. Indication has been added for the following aircraft (as well as aircraft using similar HUDs): Su-27, MiG-29, Yak-141, F-16, F-15, F-14, F-20, F-5, Su-34, Mirage 2000/4000/F1, Super Etendard, J-8F, F-4 late modifications, J35XS, JA37.
  • JA37 — an indication of target tracked with a radar has been added to the HUD. (Report).
  • Mirage 2000 (all variants), Mirage 4000, Mirage F1CT, Super Etendard — an angle-of-attack indicator and digital clock have been added to the HUD. (Report).
  • F-16AM (France), F-16A MLU (China) — a GMTI mode has been added for the APG-66(V)3.
  • F-100A, F-100D — the sequence of launching air-to-air missiles has been fixed. (Report).
  • F4D-1 — ballistic computer for the guns and rockets has been removed. (Report).
    Source: NAVWEPS 01-40FBA-1.

Flight Model changes:

  • Su-27, Su-34, J-11 — sustained turn rate at medium speeds has been increased.
  • Su-27SM — engines have been replaced with the AL-31F-M1 engines.
  • IAR-93B — engine has been changed to Mk. 633-47.
  • Saab AJ37, AJS37, JA37 — the maximum speed at high altitudes has been increased to M1.6. (Report).
  • AJ37, AJS37 — the maximum permissible indicated airspeed has been decreased to 1350 km/h according to the flight manual.
  • Me 163 (all variants), Ki-200 — fuel consumption has been increased, engine work time on full throttle has been reduced to ~4min. (Report).

Naval fleet model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Naval weaponry:

  • Mogador — torpedo tube aiming angles have been fixed. (Report).
  • HMS Repulse — a bug that caused the 40 mm “Pom-Pom” mounts on the stern to not shoot has been fixed. (Report).

Naval characteristics, physics and damage model:

  • USS Mississippi — a geometry error in the barbette of the first main caliber turret where a gap could appear when turning the turret has been fixed.
  • USS Tennessee — a geometry error in the floor of all main caliber turrets where a gap could appear when turning the turrets has been fixed.
  • IJN Mutsu — a gap between the barbettes and main caliber turrets has been fixed. (Report).

Economy and research

  • The max Battle Rating limit for all Air Battle modes has been increased to 14.0.
  • F-15E, F-15I Ra’am — Battle Ratings in all Air Battle modes has been increased to 14.0.
  • F-14B, AV-8B Plus (all variants), MiG-29G, Sea Harrier FA 2, Harrier GR.7, Mirage 4000 — these aircraft are no longer considered “top” in terms of vehicle research bonus. This is because they no longer meet the condition of “maximum Battle Rating among all modes is no more than 2 steps below the maximum BR of this tree” due to new vehicles with a Battle Rating of 14.0 being added to the trees of the corresponding nations.
  • Tor-M1 — the Battle Rating in all modes has been decreased from 11.7 to 11.0.
  • ARL-44 — vehicle class has been changed from “Tank Destroyer” to “Heavy Tank”. It has been moved from the tank destroyer line to the tank line, where it was has been added as the first vehicle in the group with the M4A3E2.
  • AMX-10M — added as the second vehicle in the group with the AuF1.
  • Zachlam Tager — added as the second vehicle in the group with the Rochev.
  • Sturer Emil — the Battle Rating has been reduced from 4.3 to 4.0. Vehicle has been moved to Rank II and added as the second vehicle in the group with the Dicker Max.
  • Wirbelwind — added as the second vehicle in the group with the Ostwind.
  • Ostwind II — vehicle rank has been changed from IV to III.
  • Challenger 3 TD — the position in the tech tree has been changed. This tank is now located before the Challenger 2 Black Night / 2E group.

Interface

  • New customization options for ground vehicle sights have been added:

    • Reload indicator settings — the ability to separately show/hide the gun readiness indicator and the weapon reload countdown timer has been added.
    • The color of the rangefinder progress bar can now be changed.
    • The thickness of the sight lines and text fonts can now be adjusted.

  • The ability to change the Player Profile showcase has been added. The following showcases are currently available to choose from:

    • Battle-Hardened. Available by default. You can select a game mode where the your skill-dependent statistics, PvP rating, and place in the leaderboard will be displayed.
    • Atomic Ace. Becomes available when a nuclear strike is performed. Shows the total number of nuclear strikes performed over the entire lifetime of the account.
    • Peacemaker. Becomes available when a nuclear weapon carrier is shot down before it drops its nuke. Shows the total number of nuclear weapons carriers intercepted over the entire lifetime of the account.
    • Favorite Vehicle. Available by default. You can select one of your favorite vehicles and the statistics for the game mode with the most respawns will be shown. In the future, the game mode for this showcase can be manually selected.

Game mechanics

  • A separate mechanic for punishing an attack on an allied nuclear-armed aircraft has been added. When any damage is inflicted on such an aircraft, the player is awarded penalty points in the amount necessary to disconnect them from the current game session. The awarded penalty points will not only lead to an immediate disconnection from the session, but will also be used in calculating the need for longer-term automatic bans.
  • New mechanics for interacting with the tactical map have been added. For aircraft and ground vehicles, the ability to move the tactical map has been added, as well as switching between the “ground forces” and “aircraft” maps in Ground Battles. For aircraft, in addition to the functionality described above, the ability to set a point of interest via the tactical map has been added.
  • An altitude indicator has been added to targets tracked by a radar.
  • Relative threat elevation indication has been added for RWRs that are capable of determining this in real life; Currently, RWRs of the SPO-15 series have this ability in the game.


The Mi-24D is available at a discount during the dates!

The Mi-24D is temporarily available at a 30% discount for Golden Eagles!
Temporarily available at a 30% discount for 5,992 Golden Eagles.

When: From today until December 16th (07:00 GMT).
Where: USSR > Helicopters > Premium vehicles.



About this helicopter

  • The Mi-24D is a versatile helicopter, great for attacking ground vehicles. This helicopter can withstand small-caliber fire and the number of ordnance is good — rockets, Falanga missiles, bombs and guns makes the Mi-24D ready for most combat scenarios.


Welcome to the 150th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition!

Your screenshots from last week were fantastic! Matches are a lot more fun when you have a friend to coordinate with- when fighting against the enemy, having an extra hand is always nice. The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

Let’s begin the 150th edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen150. You have time until the 20th of December 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:

  • Your screenshot must include a vehicle with a propeller.
  • You must add the #WTscreen150 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 149th edition – Two Friends!

Winners selected via community votes:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3379818717
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3381789444
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3381465370

Winners selected by our judges:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3379981421
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3382256254
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3381394738

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


It’s time to finally welcome the Eurofighter family, joining War Thunder as the new top fighter aircraft for Germany, Great Britain and Italy. Today, we’ll be showing you the most advanced jet fighter aircraft (for now!) to come to the game!

EF-2000 Block 10, Typhoon FGR.4 and F-2000A: Jet Fighters for Germany, Great Britain and Italy at Rank VIII
At a glance:

  • Ten air-to-air missiles!
  • Advanced CAPTOR radar.
  • PIRATE IRST (FGR.4 and F-2000A).
  • Exceptional agility and flight performance.
  • Brimstone missiles!

Vehicle History

In the early 1980s, several European countries needed a replacement for their frontline fighter aircraft that had begun to slip behind more modern aircraft appearing from the US and USSR. Previous collaborative projects like the Jaguar and Tornado lead Germany, Britain, France and Italy to once again come together, along with Spain, for a new next generation all weather jet fighter project. Previous experiences led to the Agile Combat Aircraft (ACA) program and later, the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) resulting in an airworthy technology demonstration platform. This platform could test the theory behind many of the new advanced manufacturing technologies and features required for what would become the Future European Fighter Aircraft (FEFA) programme in 1983. France would however withdraw from the program due to disagreements on requirements and control over the project.

After the turbulence of the early 90s, disagreements over the radar set and huge financial overrun, the Eurofighter had finally started to emerge. An engine consortium, EuroJet Turbo, was formed to handle the powerplant and the ECR-90 Radar (Later CAPTOR) was selected based on the Blue Vixen. First taking to the skies in 1994, it wouldn’t be until the early 2000s that the Eurofighter Typhoon would enter into service with the four core nations of the program after more development and overruns pushed the aircraft back. Initially the aircraft was heavily focused on the aerial superiority role, with later Tranches of the fighter bringing air-to-ground weaponry to its ever expanding arsenal. After more modernization programs, Typhoons have since seen combat in the 2010s, and the four original operating nations have been joined by Austria, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 




Introducing the Typhoon!

The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the most advanced 4th (or 4.5 depending on your classification!) generation aircraft in the world today. It’s fair to say few aircraft have been as anticipated as this one! Germany, Great Britain and Italy will all be receiving a comparable version of this top jet fighter aircraft in the Storm Warning major update, providing each of these nations with a highly capable and agile fighter that also has considerable ground attack potential too. Let’s take a closer look at what you can expect from the Typhoon in-game.




From an air-to-air standpoint, the Eurofighter will be able to carry a formidable combined total load of ten missiles. There’s four AIM-9 Sidewinder variants that can be taken (AIM-9L and AIM-9M for Italy and Britain, AIM-9L and AIM-9L/i in Germany) for close range engagements and six AIM-120 AMRAAMs for BVR combat. However, you could also take up to six IR missiles an four BVR missiles as an alternative combination if you wish too. Coupled with a Helmet-mounted display and the impressive CAPTOR radar set, this aircraft will be one of the deadliest in both long range and short range engagements. Should you find yourself at the wrong end of a missile, the Eurofighter will help keep you in the fight with the Defensive Aid Sub-System (DASS for short). This features a MAWS with integrated countermeasures on the aircraft, including a generous load of Chaff and Flares to counter whatever type of threat comes your way. The British and Italian versions will also feature PIRATE IRST, providing another means of locking and tracking targets without setting off their RWRs. 

Interesting: The Eurofighter is unique in being a combat aircraft produced by four nations, each with their own assembly lines for components. Britain produces the front cockpit section, canards, tail and part of the rear fuselage, Germany the central fuselage, Italy the left wing and rest of the rear fuselage and Spain the right wing. Each nation has its own final assembly plant where all components are brought together. 




We must not forget about the air-to-ground aspect too. Each Typhoon variant differs slightly in its arsenal, however you can expect to see the standard types of familiar bombs. Conventional 1000 and 2000 lb variants and the guided Paveway series (Mk.18 for the British version, GBU-48 for Germany and Italy), coupled with a LITENING III targeting pod and GPS Guided GBU-54s. All three Typhoon variants can fire the excellent Brimstone missile and also feature a single 27 mm cannon mounted in the wing root, suitable for lighter ground targets or those moments when you do get guns on air targets. The British FGR.4 variant also comes with a laser warning receiver, so should someone lock you up via laser guidance, even that won’t go unnoticed to the Typhoon.

Weaponry aside, the Eurofighter is an impressive platform in the flight performance department too. A pair of EuroJet EJ200 engines provide an exceptional amount of thrust up to 18,000 kgf, meaning the aircraft can quickly recover lost energy and achieve an excellent rate of climb. Its frontal canards provide great turning agility, so should things get up close and personal, the Typhoon will be able to keep up with the best of the competition.




You won’t have much longer to wait now until the Eurofighter will be joining the ranks of the German, British and Italian aviation trees. Stay tuned to the news to find out what other things there are to look forward to in the Storm Warning major update for War Thunder!

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


When there’s a snowstorm and blizzard outside, it’s best to gather around with family and friends inside, put up decorations and remember everyone’s favorite fairy tales about the New Year’s miracles. And then of course play some War Thunder, where the festive mood and an event await you!

This time, the rewards for the Winter Tales event include fairy-tale character decals and event vehicles at rank V-VIII. The Colombian Kfir C.10 Block 60 jet fighter for Israel, the IJN Kirishima battleship and the Pakistani T-80UD (478BE) in the Chinese ground forces tree.

When: From December 20th (11:00 GMT) until January 9th (11:00 GMT), complete tasks and get rewards!


Kfir C.10 Block 60
A Rank VIII Event Vehicle for Israel — Click here to learn more.


MB 151
A Rank I Premium for France — Click here to learn more.


Kirishima
A Rank V Event Vehicle for Japan — Click here to learn more.


T-80UD (478BE)
A Rank VII Event Vehicle for China — Click here to learn more.







“Nutcracker” decoration
“The Witch’s House” decoration







“Call sign “Snow Maiden”” profile icon



Decals:
Gryla

Hans Trapp

Jack Frost

Befana

Krampus


Complete the collection!


  • Activate all five decal coupons on your account to get the sixth decal, “Yule Cat”.


“Yule Cat” decal

More about collections on the WT Wiki!

Vehicle camouflages







Event vehicles of ranks V-VIII and decals that are issued in the form of coupons and premium vehicles of rank I, player icons, decorators and camouflages are immediately activated on the account.

All event rewards are issued for a certain number of “Marks of Distinction” received on your vehicle type in the corresponding mode.

The Snow Globe The Snow Globe will reward you with vehicles, camouflages, decals, decorations and player profile icons from previous winter events, plus useful consumables, including boosters, universal backups, wagers and orders. Some items are here for the first time as coupons, meaning you’ll be able to sell them on the Market!

The Snow Globe can be purchased for 60,000 Silver Lions.







What’s inside the trophies

  • 50,000 — 100,000 Silver Lions
  • Silver and EXP boosters
  • Random wagers and orders
  • Universal backups (1-3 pcs.)
  • Random camouflage for a purchased vehicle of any type
  • 1 day of Premium account


Tasks

To get one Mark of Distinction for a tanker/pilot/sailor, earn 40,000 mission points in random battles in Rank III or higher (from Rank I for event vehicles) in the corresponding game mode. Point multipliers that vary based on vehicle rank and difficulty level are stated in the task description. The tasks are all the same and are renewed every two days at 11:00 GMT.


Missed Marks of Distinction can be purchased for Golden Eagles until January 13th without completing the tasks. You can do this in the following menu: Nickname → Achievements → Winter Tales → Tasks for tankers/pilots/sailors.


Detailed Terms

  • The exact terms of each task can be found here: Nickname → Achievements → Winter Tales.
  • To get a Mark of Distinction, you need to complete a task in the corresponding vehicle type in the corresponding game mode. For example, a Mark of Distinction for pilots can only be received by playing Air battles (AB/RB/SB).
  • You can complete tasks in multiplayer battles in all game modes except for “Assault”.
  • You can complete tasks not only in vehicles of Rank III and above, but also in lower rank event vehicles — vehicles obtained in large events such as winter and summer marathons, WWII chronicles, BP seasons and craft marathons. In the stat cards of these vehicles you can find the names of events in which they first became available in the game.
  • You’ll only have received a Mark of Distinction if the achievement’s color is gold. If you’ve completed the task and it hasn’t turned gold yet, join another battle and afterwards it should turn gold.
  • Missed Marks of Distinction can be purchased for Golden Eagles in the Achievements window until January 13th 2025. Make sure you pick the right achievement category: either for tankers, pilots and sailors.
  • Rewards received in the form of tradable coupons will be available for trading on the Market from January 13th 2025. The time from which the coupon can be traded can be viewed in the game in the coupon description. The option of trading each coupon separately depends on the time of its receipt and doesn’t depend on the vehicle type.
  • The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until 12:00 GMT on February 1st 2025. Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.
  • For 8 Marks of Distinction you receive an untradable coupon for a vehicle. Upon activating it, you’ll instantly receive a corresponding vehicle. If you do not wish to use the vehicle and want to sell the coupon on the Market instead, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.
  • For 10 Marks of Distinction, you’ll receive an untradable “Upgrade for coupon” item. You can use it to make the vehicle coupon you received tradable and then sell it on the Market. The date on which a traded coupon becomes available for sale can be seen in its description in the game.
  • PlayStation and Xbox players will be able to exchange decal coupons for similar ones. The exchange is available in the Workshop → Exchange items “Winter Tales” window.


Happy Holidays!