PLEASE NOTE: While it may be discussed in this suggestion, I am not suggesting that the AN/VSS-1 receive the ability to use visible light, and that information is only present to display the spotlight’s IRL capabilities. In-game, the spotlight would only be capable of being used as a standard IR spotlight.
Turns out this is actually considered a bug report here’s the link: Community Bug Reporting System
- Yes
- No
Currently, the M60 and M60A1 AOS in War Thunder are the only two M60s that are presently capable of mounting the AN/VSS-1 IR spotlight, while also lacking the spotlight, despite historical evidence and the in-game visual model (the three trailer hitch-looking things on the gun mantlet) suggesting that it should be there. Introducing the Xenon searchlight would significantly enhance the gameplay experience for the iconic M60 series main battle tanks in several significant areas:
- Enhanced Night Combat Capabilities:
- IR Illumination: The IR spotlight would provide a crucial advantage in night battles, allowing players to illuminate and identify enemy vehicles equipped with early night vision devices at greater ranges. This would make the M60/M60A1 (AOS) more competitive in low-light scenarios, aligning with their historical roles and capabilities.
- Target Acquisition: The IR spotlight could assist in more quickly acquiring and tracking targets in low-light situations, especially when combined with the tank’s own night vision systems.
- Improved Situational Awareness:
- Visible Light: The visible light mode would allow players to illuminate areas of interest, potentially disorienting or revealing concealed enemies or armored vehicles in daylight or dusk/dawn conditions.
- Increased Realism and Historical Accuracy:
- The M60 series, particularly the M60 and the AOS variant, was equipped with powerful Xenon searchlights capable of both visible and infrared operation. Implementing this feature would significantly improve the historical accuracy and immersion of these vehicles in War Thunder.
- Visual models of these tanks in-game already often depict the searchlight unit, making its lack of functionality a noticeable and odd omission.
- Strategic Gameplay Opportunities:
- Utilizing the spotlight effectively would add another layer of tactical depth to gameplay, requiring players to manage its use to avoid detection (in visible mode) while maximizing its utility for target acquisition and illumination.
SYSTEM STATS
From the AN/VSS-1 Manual:
Mounting point: Coaxially onto the gun shield, directly above the barrel.
Type of light…Visible or infrared
Type of lamp…Xenon, short arc
Output candlepower:
Normal…100 million
Overdrive…150 million
Beamwidth:
Narrow…0.5° to 0.75°
Wide …7.0°
Input power requirements:
Voltage…28 volts DC.
Current:
Nominal…100 amperes.
Overdrive …140 amperes.
Potential Balancing Considerations:
- Range and Intensity: The effective range and intensity of both the visible and IR beams should be balanced against other vehicles’ night vision capabilities and the overall battlefield environment.
- Detection Risks: Using the spotlight would increase the tank’s detectability by the enemy. If they are also able to use NVD in low-light environments, the spotlight could potentially also increase the tank’s silhouette (though not by a lot when taking into account the size of the cupola’s.
- Heat: The Spotlight also produces a massive amount of heat while in use, so if the spotlight is turned on, it would be extremely visible to any vehicle that is within line of sight using thermals.
Conclusion:
Adding functional Xenon IR spotlights to the M60 and M60A1 (AOS) would be a valuable addition to War Thunder, enhancing their night combat effectiveness, improving situational awareness, increasing historical accuracy, and this would add a whole new layer to gameplay. This feature would make these iconic American tanks more engaging and accurate in the historical sense.
And while I understand that the M60s are not at a high enough BR to be in night battles, it still seems that that shouldn’t be an issue at all, considering that the M60A2 has its Xenon spotlight modeled and fully functional, so why can’t the other M60s have it as well?
And also as a note: Only the M60s listed here are able to mount the xenon spotlight due to the RISE (passive) and TTS not having anywhere to mount it due to their ERA forcing the mount for it to be removed. And as for M60’s in other tech trees, I am unsure if they ever used the spotlight and I don’t have evidence saying that they did.
Images and sources
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA141935.pdf page 8 (direct reference to the IR spotlight’s use on the m60 series)
105mm Gun Tank M60
https://www.liberatedmanuals.com/TM-11-5855-250-12-and-P.pdf (AN/VSS-1 Manuel)
portions from FM 17-12 (1964), pages 43-45 (44 omitted due to it only containing an irrelevant image)
Please note that the periscopes mentioned above are already functionally modeled in-game, as we already have NVD capabilities on all available scopes for the M60’s.
