Brief Overview: The Chinese Air Force tech tree in War Thunder has undergone significant development across multiple versions, necessitating expansion to pave the way for future aircraft updates without causing clutter.
Argument: When we examine the advanced vehicles (Rank VIII and Rank VII) in the air combat tech tree, a striking fact emerges (all aircraft mentioned below are free tech tree aircraft): For Rank VI vehicles, the United States has 9 aircraft, Germany has 9, the Soviet Union has 9, the United Kingdom has 8, while China only has 6, which is justified by its current four-line structure. However, this situation has changed rapidly: For Rank VII vehicles, the U.S. has 12 aircraft, Germany has 6, the Soviet Union has 10, the U.K. has 6, and China also has 6. At this point, China matches the vehicle count of some nations with five lines. Finally, looking at Rank VIII: the U.S. has 11 aircraft, Germany has 5, the Soviet Union has 8, the U.K. has 8, and China also has 8.
In summary, I believe a revision of the Chinese tech tree is imperative. Without changes, the current three lines (only three reach top-tier battles) will be unable to accommodate more aircraft in future updates. This issue was already evident in the “Dance of Dragons” update, where the J-10A fighter was placed in a line meant for Taiwanese aircraft, which is clearly inappropriate for a game that values accuracy.
Therefore, I propose the following suggestions:
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Expand the tech tree to five lines to alleviate the overcrowding of vehicles in top-tier battles.
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Make rigorous distinctions between different vehicle types, just as we wouldn’t want Belgian or Dutch aircraft placed in the French main line; they should have their own dedicated line.
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Most importantly, I’d like to propose how the Chinese tech tree should be expanded, hoping it will be adopted or considered:
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The first line, from left to right, is clearly the Taiwanese line. No mainland Chinese aircraft should appear here. Thus, the J-10A should be removed from this line, and in the future, the F-16V Block 70 or IDF (Indigenous Defence Fighter) should be placed here.
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The second line is clearly for mainland China’s light/medium fighters. In this context, the J-7II and J-7E should be assigned to this line, followed by the J-10A and future J-10B and J-10C.
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The third line is for interceptors/heavy fighters. In this regard, the current tech tree should be slightly adjusted: move the J-8B (below the J-7E) one slot to the right, followed by the J-8F and J-11 series.
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The fourth line—strictly speaking, the current attack aircraft line has no planning issues and can accommodate aircraft like the JH-7B or J-16 in the future. However, since the fourth line (behind the H-5) is currently discontinued, I suggest moving the F-84 to the first line of the Chinese tech tree, then placing the Q-5 Early behind the H-5. This would free up a new line, which would become the fifth line of the Chinese tech tree, inserted to the side of the J-11 line. This line would be for naval fighters, including aircraft like the J-15, J-15T, J-11BH, and Su-30MKK, to be introduced in the future.
This restructuring would clearly organize the currently chaotic lines while creating space for future vehicle releases. Imagine the current situation: a large number of aircraft would pile up on the second line of the Chinese tech tree, including the entire Eastern Flanker series (J-11BG, J-11BH, J-11BS, J-16, J-15, J-15T, Su-30MKK, J-35S, etc.), while the H-5 occupies an entirely meaningless tech tree line with no changes until tactical bombers like the H-6 are released. This is clearly a chaotic situation no one wants to see.
In conclusion, I hope the War Thunder development team will consider my proposal or at least prepare for these changes, as this situation will inevitably arise if no action is taken.
The following is my rudimentary sketch of the tech tree:
