Meet Firebirds, War Thunder’s second to last 2024 major update!
Immediately worth mentioning is that the F-117A has joined the ranks as a squadron vehicle, providing brand-new stealth capability to the game! Several jet aircraft including the Tornado GR.4, Su-34 and F-15E Strike Eagle have entered the fray, as well as several cockpit remakes and two brand-new helicopters. As for ground vehicles, Firebirds focuses on lighter vehicles and filling gaps, including the Skink and T77E1 SPAA for the US, Ram II and Scimitar for Great Britain, the PLZ05 for China and three Dutch Leopards for France. Dunkerque takes center stage for naval, while the Abandoned Factory map has received a visual update, providing a freshened experience for tankers. Test flights have been greatly expanded with more enemies, options and new airfields, and lastly the game has seen a large amount of updates to graphics & effects, including Ray tracing, new afterburner visuals, LERX vapor and much more.
There’s many fixes, new vehicles and other features — take a look at what we’ve included in this major update.
Aircraft: Stealth Technology Enters War Thunder with the F-117A!
USA
- F-117A OCIP II (Squadron Vehicle)
- F-15E
Germany
- Su-22M4 WTD61 (Premium)
- Ju 87 (all variants) — cockpit model has been updated.
USSR
- Su-34
- BB-1 — cockpit model has been updated.
- Su-2 (all variants) — cockpit model has been updated.
Great Britain
Japan
- AV-8S (Premium)
China
- Mirage 2000-5Ei
France
Sweden
- JA37DI
- JA37DI F21 (Pack)
Israel
- F-15I Ra’am
Ground Vehicles: SPAA & Lighter Vehicles Take the Spotlight
USA
Germany
USSR
- Object 140 (Pack)
- Osa-AKM
Great Britain
Japan
China
Italy
France
- Leopard 2A4NL
- Leopard 2A5NL
- Leopard 2A6NL
Sweden
- BMP-2MD (Squadron vehicle)
Israel
Helicopters: South African Super Hind & Cockpit Updates!
USA
- OH-58D — detailed cockpit has been added.
USSR
Great Britain
- Super Hind (Squadron Vehicle)
China
- Mi-35M (Pack)
- OH-58D — detailed cockpit has been added.
Italy
- A-109EOA-2 — detailed cockpit has been added.
Naval Fleet: The Formidable Dunkerque Takes Center Stage!
USA
- USS Bagley
USSR
- Pr.253L
Great Britain
Japan
Italy
- MS 444 (Premium)
- RN Francesco Caracciolo
France
Closed beta testing of the Coastal French fleet has finished. Researching these boats is now available to all players.
New locations and missions
- Aircraft test flight logic and locations have been updated. Now there are multiple locations as well as air spawn points available. Rank of targets presented in the test flight can now also be changed. Respawn logic, similar to the one present in tank test drive has been added for targets. Airfield models have been replaced with the new ones in all test drive locations.
Location and mission updates
- Abandoned Factory — the location has been visually reworked with new assets, redrawn ground textures and new effects.
- Flanders — adjusted the rock cover in square E7 where players could safely fire at the northern team’s spawn and its passages.
- Abandoned Town — in square C2, the mountainside where players could get stuck has been removed.
- Sun City (all missions) — play area in the location has been increased. Detection area at spawn points has been increased.
- Finland — positions on rocks near the northern spawn in the adjacent area of squares B4 and B5 have been blocked.
- Second Battle of El Alamein [Domination #1] — positions allowing fire on the northern team spawn on the hills in squares C5 and B5 have been blocked off.
- Aral Sea — density of bushes on lines 1 and 2 have been reduced. A bug where bushes did not disappear when destroyed has been fixed.
- Wagons on maps are no longer static. They can be moved by a ground vehicle and from explosions.
- South Africa — the collision models of large islands, blurred shore textures and flying trees have been fixed.
- [Conquest #3] Karelia — the detection zone in the bottom spawn point has been fixed.
- Eastern Europe, European Province — incorrect destruction of fences near bridges has been fixed.
- Vietnam (the ground forces map) — the incorrect rendering range of trees in the aircraft part of the map have been fixed.
- Maginot Line (winter) — trees that had incorrect settings and ones where their visual model did not match their collision model have been removed. Additionally, the tree destruction model that led to an incorrect behavior when receiving damage has been fixed.
- All locations — oak trees that had trunks that behaved unnaturally when receiving damage have been removed.
Ground Vehicle model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
- The uniforms for crews of US Cold War vehicles have been updated. Vehicles with updated crew models are: M19, M42, M56, M163, Chaparral.
- M1128 (all variants) — an automatic loading module has been added.
- New modules (electrical equipment, driver modules etc) have been added for the following vehicles: PGZ09, PGZ04A, Chieftain Marksman, ItPsV Leopard, HSTV-L, Begleitpanzer 57, LAV-AD, Stormer HVM, BMP-2, BMP-2M.
- Imp.Chaparral (all variants), Type 81 (C), Strela-10M2 — a bug with the incorrect ammunition consumption order has been fixed.
- Now, all vehicles that have light amplification night vision devices (NVD don’t need to research the modification to use them. The modification has been removed, Silver Lions and Golden Eagles spent on its research have been refunded. The use of thermal imaging devices (TVD) still requires a modification to be researched.
- The ability to roll down a hill in a ground vehicle with a destroyed engine has been added.
- TOW family ATGMs, 9M114/120, ZT3 — the flight model and autopilot have been updated, the probability of self-oscillation occurring after fast movement of line-of-sight has lowered.
- A bug that caused ATGMs launched from AI units to significantly drop in height has been fixed. This bug was noticeable in test drive when a vehicle with active protection system was being shot at by AI.
- AML-90 (all variants) — the gunner’s sight zoom has been changed from 5.5x to 6x. (Report).
- Challenger Mk.3, Challenger DS — the armor parameters of the charge bins have been changed from 5 to 10 mm. (Report). Sources: Challenger 1 Main Battle Tank Owners' Workshop Manual by Haynes/Tank Museum page 93; Challenger Squadron by Simon Dunstan page 37.
- Freccia — third generation thermal imager has been added. (Report).
- AMX-30 Super — the MOLF 30 gunner’s sight zoom has been change from 8x - 12x to 4x - 12x. (Report). Sources: MOLF, Modular Laser Fire Control System; International Defense Review, No. 5/1987, Vol.20, page 634; Никольский М. «Леклерк» и другие французские основные боевые танки, 2007, page 13.
- FV4005 — the gunner’s sight has been changed to the TZF-12A, meaning the sight zoom has been changed from 4.9x-6.0x to 2.5x-5x.
- Type 62 (all variants) — a bug with the incorrect ammunition consumption has been fixed. (Report).
- Freccia — the maximum speed has been increased from 108 km/h to 110 km/h.
- Freccia — name and engine type have been added (IVECO 8262 6V).
- Freccia — machine gun ammo belt size has been changed from 200 to 600 rounds.
- Freccia — the smoke grenade caliber has been changed from 76 to 80 mm.
- MBT-70 — the gun name has been changed from 152 mm XM150E6 cannon to 152 mm XM150E5 cannon. (Report).
- XM803 — the gun name has been changed from 152 mm XM150E5 cannon to 152 mm XM150E6 cannon. (Report).
- Sholef V1 — the value of the engine deck roof armor has been changed from 30 to 20 mm.
- M46, M46 “Tiger” — the armor of the hull roof has been corrected from 22.2 mm to 25.4 mm. The floor of the tank has been split into 2 parts. Thickness of the front one is still 25.4 mm, the thickness of the rear one is now set to 12.7 mm. (Report).
- CV9030FIN — the thicknesses and types of armor for a number of gun mantlet elements have been corrected.
- M41A1, leKPz M41, M41A1 (Japan), M41A3 (China), M41D — a bug that caused sparks under the tracks even though they are rubber pads has been fixed.
- Al-Khalid-I — the gunner and commander’s sight zoom have been changed to 6x-10x. (Report). Source: Heavy Industries Taxila, Al-Khalid 1 Brochure.
- Tiran 6 — gun depression angles at certain areas have been corrected. Previously the gun could have passed through some other elements of the vehicle.
- Centauro I 120, Centauro I 105 — the smoke grenade caliber has been changed from 76 to 80 mm.
- SANTAL — the elevation angle has been changed from 60 to 65°. (Report).
- Strv 104, Strv 105 — a bug that caused the commander fire control (“AIM MODE”) in the commander sight to not work has been fixed. (Report).
- Ystervark — driver camera position has been fixed. (Report).
- Vextra 105 — the location of the first-stage shells has been corrected. Previously, all 12 shells were on the turret floor, now 4 are on the turret floor, the rest are in the rear of the turret.
- ZTZ96, ZTZ96A, ZTZ96A (P) — the horizontal drive model which previously was too small in diameter has been corrected. (Report).
- ZTZ96 — armor at the rear of the turret, which didn’t match the visual model of the vehicle, which caused the horizontal drive to stick from it has been corrected.
- Freccia — missile ammunition amount has been increased from 8 to 10. Sources: VBM Freccia IFV Datasheet and Specifics; Website of the manufacturer: CIO. Centauro AIFV Freccia.
- WZ305 — armor thicknesses of several vehicle elements have been changed. (Report).
- FV4005 — vehicle mass has been reduced from 59.5 to 50.0 tons. Sources: Centurion 5 by Captain Michael Norman; FV4005 History by Tank Museum employee Ian Hudson; The Dark age of tanks by David Lister.
- ARL-44 (ACL-1), ARL-44 — now have the ability to turn on the spot. (Report).
- OF-40 Mk.2A, OF-40 (MTCA) — sight magnification has been changed from 7-14x to 8-16x. (Report). Source: Carro Armato OF 40 MK2A Manuale Dell'operatore. Volume 1 Descrizione Generale, 1983.
- JPz 4-5 — armor thickness parameters in the vehicle stat card have been corrected.
- AMX-40 — the caliber of the smoke grenades has been changed from 76 mm to 80 mm. Sources: AMX-40 Brochure, 1985; Lacroix GALIX Datasheet.
- M60A1 (AOS), M60A1 RISE (P), M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" — reverse speed has been increased from 8.3 km/h to 11.3 km/h. Source: TM 9-2350-257-10-1 Operator's Manual Operator Controls and PMCS-Tank, Combat, Full Tracked-105-MM Gun, M60A1 - July 1980.
- AMX-10M — sight zoom has been changed from 6x to 10x. (Report).
- Leclerc, Leclerc S2, Leclerc SXXI, Leclerc AZUR — the caliber of the smoke grenades has been changed from 76 mm to 80 mm. (Report). Additional source: Leclerc Brochure, 1992.
- ST-A1, ST-A2 — maximum engine power has been increased from 500 HP to 550 HP. (Report).
- Gepard 1A2 — vehicle mass has been increased from 46 tons to 47.5 tons. (Report).
- KV-1 m1942 (Sweden) — maximum engine RPM has been increased 1900 RPM to 2000 RPM. (Report).
- Boxer MGS, Vilkas — transmission gear ratios have been changed. Source: GTK (Gepanzertes Transport-Kraftfahrzeug) Boxer by Bundeswehr; Allison Transmission 4700/4800 Series Brochure; MTU-Allison Transmission Brochure.
- Vilkas — vehicle mass has been increased from 33 tons to 36.5 tons. Source: Lietuvos Respublikos krašto apsaugos ministerija. Pėstininkų kovos mašinų „Vilkas“ progresas: įdiegti paskutiniai atnaujinimai.
- Type 87 — a bug that caused the elevation angle of one of the guns to be 80 degrees instead of 85 degrees has been fixed. Source: 制式要綱 87式自走高射機関砲 D8008.
- CV 9035NL, Vextra 105 — a bug that caused the scout UAV to lack thermals has been fixed. (Report).
- CV 9035NL, Strv 122B, Strv 122B PLSS, Strv 122B+, CV 9035DK, Lvkv 9040C, Strf 9040B, Strf 9040C, CV 90105, CV 90120 — the caliber of the smoke grenades has been changed from 76 to 80 mm. (Report). Additional source: web page about Soft-Kill Self Protection on LACROIX Defense (manufacturer) website.
- 2S25M — gun depression angles have been changed from -5/+15 degrees all around to -5/+15 degrees when facing forwards and -3/+17 degrees when facing backwards. (Report). Sources: RosOboronExport SPTP Light Amphibious Tank Sprut-SDM1 Brochure; Курганмашзавод Лёгкий плавающий танк "СПТП Спрут-СДМ1".
- SU-100, SU-100 (China) — maximum engine power has been increased from 500 HP to 520 HP. Sources: Самоходные установки. Альбом Научно-Испытательного Бронетанкового Полигона ГБТУ Красной Армии. 1945.
- Leopard 2AV, Leopard 2A4 (all variants), Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123), Leopard 2A4M, Leopard 2 PL, Leopard 2 PSO, Leopard 2A6 (all variants), Leopard 2A7V, Leopard 2A7HU, Strv 121, Christian II, Strv 122B, Strv 122B+, Strv 122B PLSS — zones in the rear hemisphere in which the gun depression limit of +3 degrees is applied have been changed from +-40 degrees to +-75 degrees.
- M43 105/75, M43 "G.C.Leoncello", 75/34 M43, 75/46 M43 — armor thickness of the lower front plate has been decreased from 40 mm to 25 mm. Sources: Prot.118692, Ministero della Guerra, Gabinetto, 2 aprile 1943; Gli autoveicoli da combattimento dell'esercito italiano, volume secondo 1940-1945. Pignato, Cappellano; Kennenblatter fremden gerats D50/12, November 1943; Italian armour in German service. D. Gugliemi; Carro M, volume primo. A. Tallillo, D. Guglielmi; Original M43 105/25 test report 27/2/1943, published by Pafi and Falessi in Veicoli da combattimento dell'esercito Italiano, 1939-1945.
- 120S — sight zoom values have been changed from 3-10x to 3-13x. Sources: Armor Magazine, 1978, May-June; General Dynamics to Unveil 120S Main Battle Tank at IDEF 2001 from GDLS website.
- Type 90, Type 90 (B), Type 90 (B) “Fuji” — the amount of 12.7 mm machine gun ammunition has been reduced from 1000 to 600 rounds. Source: ９０式戦車(Ｂ)Ｄ ９００３Ｂ.
- Char 25t, AMX-50 (TO90/930) — a bug where it was possible to fire from the main gun in the commander’s sight without turning on the backup fire mode has been fixed. (Report).
- AMX-10P — the amount of machine gun ammunition has been reduced from 4600 to 2000 rounds. (Report). Sources: AMX 10 (Saint-Cloud: GIAT, n.d.), 4»; «GIAT, n.d. AMX 10P. s.l.: s.n.
- XM800T — the AA machine gun elevation angles have been adjusted so that the machine gun does not intersect with the parts around the hatch. (Report).
- Sho't Kal Gimel, Sho't Kal Dalet (all variants) — vertical guidance speed has been increased from 4°/s to 6°/s. Source: אמצעים שפותחו במסגרת חיל החימוש והותרו לחשיפה ביום החיל חיל חמוש 1979 פברואר
- Skink — the vertical and horizontal aiming speed of the guns has been changed from 20°/s and 63°/s to 45°/s and 60°/s respectively. (Report). Sources: Design record canadian-developed military vehicles World War II. Volume III. Tanks and tank type vehicle»; «Report on firing trials – medium tank A/A – "Skink"
- CV 9035DK, CV 9030FIN — vehicle names have been changed from CV9035DK to CV 9035DK and CV9030FIN to CV 9030FIN.
- Ho-Ro — the explosive mass in the Type 95 APHE shell has been reduced from 2.6 to 2.3 kg. (Report).
- Sd.Kfz.234/4 — a bug with crew swapping that resulted in the vehicle being left without a driver has been fixed.
- KPz-70 — a bug with the incorrect operation of the machine gun ammunition level indicator has been fixed. (Report).
- M4A5 Ram II, Ram II — the material of the upper glacis plate armor has been changed from rolled homogeneous armor to cast homogeneous armor.
- ZSD63/PG87, PGZ04A, AMX-10P, Bosvark, M15 CGMC, So-Ki, Ta-Se, TCM-20 — gun breech armor thickness value has been corrected from 10 to 150 mm.
- Begleitpanzer 57 — the material of the gun breech casing has been changed from structural steel to cast homogeneous armor.
- Magach 7C — the displayed thicknesses of the turret composite armor elements have been corrected. (Report).
- Leclerc, Leclerc S2, Leclerc SXXI, Leclerc AZUR — the name of the machine gun has been changed from “MIT 12.7 CRC F1” to “12.7 mm CRC F1 machine gun”. (Report).
- ZT3A2 — a bug that caused a recoil effect when firing from the launchers has been fixed. (Report).
- Fox, Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41), CV 9030FIN, Phòng không T-34, Phòng không T-34 (USSR), LVT-4/40, Pvkv III, Turan II, Turan III, Zrinyi II, M43 105/ 75, M43 "G.C.Leoncello", Somua SM, AMX-50 (TOA100), Lorraine 40t, Object 775, Object 435, Flakpanzer 341, A.C.I, T-26E (Швеция), Strv m/38, Strv m/39 TD, Strv m/41 S-II — the thickness of the gun barrels have been adjusted to standard values for the gun calibers of these vehicles.
- T1E1 (90) — hull and turret armor has been redesigned for volumetric armor, some thickness values have been changed.
- Leopard 2A6 (Sweden) — visual model of the vehicle has been corrected. (Rеport).
- KV-7 (U-13) — the thickness of the side and stern parts of the superstructure have been increased from 60 to 75 mm. The thickness of the superstructure add-on armor at the front has been increased from 25 to 30 mm. (Report).
- Ho-Ni I — maximum gun depression angle has been increased from -10 degrees to -15 degrees, horizontal gun guidance angles have been increased from -10/+10 degrees to -11/+11 degrees. (Report).
- Type 94 — vehicle mass has been reduced from 5300 kg to 3930 kg. Sources: “Doolittle Raid Damage Information, Ground Forces and Air Forces Discussion Items” Issued by the Defense Division of the Army Ministry’s Military Affairs Bureau and the Ordnance Administration Headquarters. April 1942; 陸軍技術本部, 昭和十二年四月 「九四式六輪自動貨車仮制式制定ノ件 / Army Technology Headquarters (April 1937) "Temporary adopt formula of Type 94, 6-wheeled truck" p. 5 - 15.
- Gepard, Gepard 1A2 — maximum gun depression angle has been decreased from -10 to -5 degrees. (Report). Sources: GEPARD: The Gepard Self-Propelled Antiaircraft Gun in German Service; Leopard Family: An Example of Good Family Planning; Kampfpanzer Leopard by Raimund Knecht.
- ADATS, ADATS (M113) — sight magnification has been adjusted from x6-12 to x3-18. Source: AH-64 Flight and Weapons Simulator Concept Formulation Study Volume 1.
- 120mm M339 — explosive weight has been reduced from 3 to 2.3 kg. (Report).
Aircraft and helicopter model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Weaponry
- The aiming algorithm for ARH anti-ship missiles has been improved. Now the aiming of the seeker is performed at one of the randomly selected ship modules, and not at the center of the bounding box of the model, so the aiming point is always within the silhouette of the above-water part of the ship.
- Helicopter thermal signatures have been updated so that the peak power output from helicopter engines now matches the direction of the engine nozzle.
- The characteristics of helicopter thermal imaging sights have been updated. The characteristics of these thermal imagers have been brought to the level of ground vehicle thermal imagers, except for the 1st generation, which in terms of characteristics has been left equal to the 2nd generation. 1st generation: A-129 International (p), Tzefa D / E, AH-1F, AH-1S, AH-1S Kisarazu, AH-1W, AH-64A (GR), AH-64A Peten, AH-64A, Saraph, AH-64D, AH Mk.1, AHS, HKP9A (FC), Lynx AH.Mk.1, G-LYNX, SA.342M Gazelle, YAH-64; 2nd generation: A129CBT, Rooivalk Mk1F CSH, AH-64DJP, G-LYNX, Ka-52, Mi-8AMTSh-VN, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Superhind, T129, EC-665 Tiger HAD, EC-665 Tiger HAP, EC-665 Tiger UHT, Z-9WA, Z-10, Z-11WA, Z-19, Z-19E, AH-129D, AH-1Z, AH-6M, AH-60, MH-60L, Mi-28NM, OH-58D, Tiger HAD Block 2.
- GBU-31 JDAM — onboard equipment operating time has been increased from 150 to 200 seconds. (Report).
- GB250 — a bug with missing GNSS guidance has been fixed. (Report).
- A display of combined guidance (Laser+IOG+GNSS) has been added to the weaponry stat card.
- TOW family ATGMs, 9M114/120 — flight model and autopilot have been updated, the probability of self-oscillations occurring after fast movement of line-of-sight has lowered.
- PGM-500, PGM-2000 — inertial guidance (IOG) has been added. (Report). Source: MBDA’s manufacturers brochure “PGM Modular Air-to-surface Stand-off weapon”.
- GBU-24 — inertial guidance (IOG) has been removed. (Report).
- A bug that caused ESS smoke to not prevent the guidance of missiles with optical (TV) seekers has been fixed.
- F-16C — GBU-39 bombs have been added. (Report).
- F-16AM — GBU-39 bombs have been added.
- JAS39C (all variants) — GBU-39 bombs have been added. (Report).
- Su-17M4, Su-22M4 — the restriction on the joint use of TV and laser-guided missiles has been removed. (Report). Source: Самолёт Су-17М4 и подготовка его к боевому применению. Учебное пособие. Монино-1986.
- Harrier GR.1, Harrier GR.3 — 500 lb bombs have been replaced by 540 lb bombs. (Report). Source: CTTO Harrier Tactics Manual 2nd Edition (National Archives reference DEFE 71/1019).
- F-4F — BLU-27B incendiary bombs have been added. (Report). Source: GAF TO 1F-4F-1 Flight Manual GAF Series F-4F Aircraft, 1976.
- B-17G — underwing 4000 lb AN/M56 bombs have been added. The number of 1600 lb AN-Mk1 armor-piercing bombs has been increased from 2 to 6. (Report). Source: AN 01-20EG-1.
- Tornado — for the Tornados with the BOZ-107 pod, the number of countermeasures has been increased from 340 to 600. Sources: AWC Tornado GR.1 Tactics Manual; Tornado Training Notes. Armament Book 11.
- AJ37, AJS37, JAS39A — RB 75T missiles and their corresponding modifications have been added. (Report).
- F-104J — 19 x Mighty Mouse rockets have been added.
- A-7E, A-7K — the number of bombs that range from 250 to 1000 lb has been increased. (Report).
- J-10A — additional 250-3 and 250-4 bombs on the under-fuselage pylon have been added. (Report). Drop-tanks have been added to the under-fuselage pylon.
- A-129CBT, A-129D — the amount of rounds for the TM197B turret has been reduced from 750 to 500. Source: TM197B Datasheet, Leonardo.
- Ki-102 Otsu — practice shell and new belts have been added for the 57 mm Ho-401 cannon. (Report).
- 37 mm Ho-204 cannon — rate of fire has been increased from 360 to 400 rounds per minute. (Report).
- 37 mm Ho-203 cannon — rate of fire has been reduced from 300 to 100 rounds per minute. (Report).
- TIS MA — the ammunition for the 37 mm NS-37 cannon has been reduced from 75 to 45 rounds per barrel. The ammunition for the 20 mm ShVAK cannon has been reduced from 150 to 120 rounds per barrel. Source: Отчет по заводским испытаниям модифицированного двухместного истребителя сопровождения “ТИС”-2АМ38Ф конструкции Н.Н. Поликарпова.
- Sea Fury FB.11, Sea Fury FB.51 — M.C. 250 lb Mk.I and M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bombs have been added. (Report).
- Ki-45 Otsu — the 37 mm Type 94 cannon has been replaced with the 37 mm Type 98 cannon. (Report).
- Spitfire F Mk 22, Spitfire F Mk 24 — M.C. 250 lb Mk.I and M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bombs have been added.
- Vampire F.B.5, Vampire FB 52, Vampire FB 52A — M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bomb has been added.
- Venom FB.4 — M.C. 500 lb Mk.I bomb has been added.
- Ju-288C — a set of 2 x SB2500 bombs has been added.
- Yer-2 (M-105) — 250, 500 and 1000 kg armor-piercing bombs have been added. Source: Временное техническое описание самолёта Ер-2 2М-105. Книга третья.
- Su-24M — KAB-500Kr-E bombs have been replaced with KAB-500Kr-M.
- Ki-45 Otsu — 250 kg bombs have been added.
- Ki-45 Hei, Ki-45 Hei/Tei — 50 kg, 100 kg and 250 kg bombs have been added.
- Ki-45 Tei — 50 kg and 100 kg bombs have been added.
- Ki-45 Otsu — 250 kg bombs have been added.
- Ki-45 Hei, Ki-45 Hei/Tei — 50 kg, 100 kg and 250 kg bombs have been added.
- Ki-45 Tei — 50 kg and 100 kg bombs have been added. Sources (for all Ki-45 points): PROFILE PUBLICATIONS The Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu NUMBER 105 TWO SHILLINGS; Manual on Japanese aircraft, TAIC No. 2, October 1944; Mechanism of Military Aircraft; “Toryu” / Type 99 Assault/Tactical Reconnaissance, 1999; Jacar C16120150400 “27th Flight Regiment Operation Order No. 113: Support the Navy and Launch a General Attack” October 24, 1944, 2000J, Saravia, Philippines. 27th Flight Regiment, 2nd Company, Combat Diary; Collection of Japanese Army Aircraft (日本陸軍軍用機集) . by Shigeru Nohara. June 1997; “Senshi Sōsho Vol. 087: Development, Production, and Supply of Army Aviation Weapons” edited by the War History Office of the Defense Agency’s Defense Research Institute. 1975; To-gō Flight Manual (と號空中勤務必携). Issued by Imperial Japanese Army. May 1945.
- F3D-1 — the ability to drop bombs separately has been added. (Report).
- 1000 lb AN-M65A1 bomb — bomb mass has been reduced from 546.5 kg to 500.76 kg. (Report).
- 20 mm Hispano 404 autocannon — belt composition has been reworked. (Report).
Other
- Su-24M — a bug that caused the left drop-tank to be missing when equipping the right drop-tank has been fixed. (Report).
- Jaguar (all variants) — a bug where the Phimat chaff pod counted releases by two has been fixed.
- Su-24M — icons in the secondary weapons menu for the S-25LD missiles have been corrected. (Report).
- A-10C — a bug that made it impossible to use the AGM-65G next to the LITENING II guidance pod has been fixed.
- A-10C — a bug where part of the RWR was superimposed on the right page of the MFD has been fixed. (Report).
- JF-17 — guidance pod replaced with ASELPOD.
- F-111F — a bug that caused the AGM-65D, AGM-65G and GBU-15(V)2 to be missing the IR channel has been fixed. (Report).
- Su-7BMK, Su-7BKL — ballistic computer for the bombs has been removed. Sources: Альбом наглядных пособий по самолету Су-7Б. Часть 2.; Самолёт МиГ-21Ф-13. Техническое описание, Книга II - Вооружение. 1963
- Mi-24D (all variants) — the HIRSS modification has been added. The Flares/Chaff, IRCM and NVD modifications have each been moved one modification research tier higher. The HIRSS modification is now required to research Flares/Chaff modification. (Report).
- F-84G — sight in the cockpit has been made gyroscopic. (Report).
- Mi-8, Mi-4 — a bug that caused the turret to stop working after one of the gunners was knocked out has been fixed. (Report, Report).
- A129CBT, AH-129D, T129 — the 20 mm TM197B turret aiming angles have been adjusted: horizontal aiming angles have been changed from +/- 115 to +/- 110 degrees, vertical aiming angles have been changed from -50/+25 to -50/+20 degrees. Weight has been changed from 66kg to 138kg. Source: TM197B Datasheet, Leonardo.
- Harrier GR.7 — a missing preset with the AGM-65E missile has been added. (Report).
- F-105D — a bug that caused the arresting hook to not deploy when attempting to land on an aircraft carrier has been fixed. (Report).
- A-7E — RWR has been changed from AN/ALR-45 to AN/ALR-45(V). Source: A-7 Corsair Pilot's Flight Operating Manual.
- F-4F Early — RWR has been changed from AN/APR36 to AN/ALR-46(V)2. (Report). Source: GAF TO 1F-4F-34-1.
- Su-24M — flap release animation has been fixed. (Report).
- F-5A, F-5C — incorrect texture mapping on the rightmost pylon of the AGM-12B missile has been fixed.
- Jaguar A, Jaguar E — a bug that caused the Phimat pod to not display on the pylon has been fixed.
- Ju 87 B-2, Ju 87 D-3, Ju 87 D-5, Ju 87 R-2 — a bug that caused the release of the wing bombs to be out of sync (the first four were dropped on the left wing, then one on the right) has been fixed. (Report).
- The size of the central circle on the RWR indicator in the interface has been reduced to make visual assessment of the distance towards the radiation source easier.
- MiG-21SMT/MF/bis (all variants), MiG-23 (all variants), MiG-29 (9-12 (all variants))/(9-13), Su-17M2/M3/M4, Su-22M4, Su-24M, Su-25 (all variants), Su-27, F-5E (all variants), F-20A, A-7D/K, F-14 (all variants), F-15 (all variants), F-16 (all variants), A-10 (all variants), Mirage 3E/5BA, J-7D, AJ37, Harrier GR.3, Sea Harrier FRS.1, AV-8B (all variants), F-4EJ Kai Phantom II — authentic cockpit RWR lights have been added. The text under the lights may differ from the text on the RWR indicator in the interface. There will also be no indication in the cockpit of radars that the RWR was unable to detect in real life.
- A-4E (all variants), A-6E, A-4H/N, A-7D/E, A-10 (all variants), F-16 (all variants), F-15 (all variants), F-14 (all variants), F-5E (all variants), F-105D, Mirage 2000 (all variants), Tornado F3/ADV, F-4EJ Kai, F-4E Kurnass, Harrier GR.7, Sea Harrier FRS.1, AV-8B (all variants), F-20A, Kfir Canard, AMX (all variants), AH-64 (all variants), AH-1W/Z (all variants), OH-58 (all variants), AH-60 (Israel), A-129 (all variants) , BO 105 PAH-1 (all variants), AHS, Rooivalk — authentic RWR displays have been in the cockpit. Threat markers and their status indicators (locked on, launch, new threat, etc) may differ from how they are displayed on the RWR indicator in the interface. There will also be no indication in the cockpit about the radars, which the RWR was unable to detect in real life.
- The threat identification capabilities of the following RWRs have been changed:
- ARI 18228/10 on the Buccaneer S.2B — the ability to identify specific radar models has been added.
- AN/APR-25/27/32/36 — radar type indication on the screen in accordance with frequency ranges E, G and I has been added. Examples of affected aircraft: F-4C, F-4J (UK), F-104, F-8, F-105, A-4.
- AN/ALR-56 (all variants)/67/68 (all variants)/69 — artillery SPAAs are now identified as anti-aircraft artillery, without identifying specific models. The SAMs are identified as before.
- Pulse radars of fighters other than the F-4, F-5, MiG-21 and MiG-23 are identified as pulse radars, without identification of specific models. Pulse-Doppler fighter radars are identified as before. JA37/AJ37 radar is recognized as the F-16. J-7, J-8 radars are recognized as the MiG-21.
- Examples of affected aircraft: F-14B, F-16 (all variants), AV-8B (all variants), F-15 (all variants).
- AN/APR-39 (all variants) — fighter radars are not identified as specific models anymore. ZSU-23-4 is identified as a specific model. NATO air defense systems, such as Roland, ItO 90M (Crotale), etc can no longer be identified as a specific model.
- Examples of affected aircraft: AH-64A, AH-1Z, A-129. Source: AN/APR-39A(V)1 RADAR SIGNAL DETECTING SET. US FORCES, KOREA 18-29 MAY 1998.
- AN/ALR-46 (all variants) — fighter radars and missile radars are identified as pulse and pulse-Doppler, without identifying specific models. Artillery SPAAs are now identified as anti-aircraft artillery, without identifying specific models. Examples of affected aircraft: F-4E, F-5E, A-7D/K.
The Secondary weapons menu has been added to the following aircraft:
- Me 264, Fw 200 C-1, He 177 A-5, Yer-2 (M-105), Yer-2 (M-105R) LU, Yer-2 (M-105) TAT, Yer-2 (M-105R) TAT.
Flight Model changes:
- The speed of wing stress accumulation has been increased, which decreased the time during which the wing could continuously resist overloads higher than the maximum allowed one without breaking.
- LaGG-3-35/66, La-5 (all variants) — the aircraft flight model has been completely updated in accordance with the current capabilities of the physical model. The polars of the wing, fuselage, empennage and propeller blades have been recalculated and refined. Moments of inertia have been refined. The engine operating modes have also been refined. A bug leading to a decrease in the developed overload at speeds above 550 km/h according to the instrument (IAS) has been fixed. (Report).
- Meteor (all variants) — automatic flap retraction system depending on speed (floating flaps) has been added. Sources: A.P. 2210C Meteor F Mk.3; A.P. 2210D Pilot's Notes for Meteor 4 - 2nd Edition; A.P. 2210L,N,N,P & V Pilot's Notes Meteor Night Fighters; A.P. 2210H Volume 1 - Meteor F Mk.8 Aircraft - General and technical information.
- Hs 129 (all variants) — engine fire extinguishing system has been added.
- Tornado IDS, ADV, F3 — maximum and afterburner thrust has been adjusted.
- AV-8B (NA) — thrust has been increased, engine has been changed to F402-RR-408.
- Javelin F.Mk 9 — afterburning thrust at sea level has been reduced to the maximum thrust without afterburning due to the poor performance of the fuel pumps. Full afterburning thrust is achieved at about 6 km.
- Su-27, J-11 — roll control when using the mouse has been improved, roll overshoot at the end of a roll change at high speed has been reduced.
- A-5C/Q-5 (all variants) — maximum speed has been reduced to M 1.20 at an altitude of 11 km and 1350 km/h at an altitude of 7 km (Q-5 early: M 1.12 and 1240 km/h).
Naval fleet model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Naval weaponry:
- RN Andrea Doria, USS Arkansas, USS Wyoming — the bridge module has been excluded from the fire control modules. Fire is now controlled only by the fire control room.
- S-38, S-38b — a bug where the armor-piercing belts were not loaded into one of the autocannons when changing selected belt has been fixed. (Report). The order of the gun indicators above the action panel have also been fixed.
- Hugin — a bug where it was impossible to select torpedoes in the additional armament when starting a test sail has been fixed. (Report).
- IJN Myoko, IJN Haguro — the actual reload time of the 127 mm secondary guns has been corrected. It originally said 4.3 sec in the stat card, which is the correct value, but actually was 7.4 sec. (Report).
- Mogador — a bug where the guns of the last main battery turret could not elevate to their maximum angle has been fixed. (Report).
- MAS 441 — a bug where the front 40 mm cannon did not fire at aircraft in auto-gunner mode has been fixed. (Report).
- RN Leonardo da Vinci — some 76/50 Vickers mod.1909 gun elevation angles have been corrected.
- Z46, Z47 — all main caliber turrets now have the ability to rotate 360 degrees.
Naval modifications and crew skills:
- M-17 — a bug where depth charges were available before the corresponding modification had been researched has been fixed.
Naval characteristics, physics and damage model:
- The position of the binocular camera has been reworked. The camera has been moved to the center of the ship along its length and width. The height of the binoculars now depends on the maximum height of the vehicle: the higher the superstructure and masts, the higher the location of the camera.
- In Arcade Battles, the calculation time for the fire control system has been reduced for all its types.
- IJN Amagi — ship displacement has been corrected from 47,600t to 43,918t. Source: B.C."AMAGI & AKAGI" RESULTS OF CALCULATION OF BENDING AND SHEARING STRESSES.
- HMS Hood — the damage model of the aft magazine, which previously did not match its model in the X-ray has been fixed.
- Paris — maximum roll in turn, which previously caused a warning about a possible ship capsize has been reduced. (Report).
- USS Tennessee — the shape of the splinter bulkhead armor that protects the bow ammo magazines has been corrected. (Report).
Naval Visual models and visual parts:
- Z46 — a bug where the elevator models in the ship’s X-ray were displayed as cylinders has been fixed.
- Type T-1 — tube torpedo tubes have been replaced with side drop launch devices.
- Mogador — the position of the sailors behind the anti-aircraft installations have been corrected.
- RN Pola — a bug where the X-ray of the AA installations did not rotate with the model has been fixed. (Report).
Localization
- USS Sumner — a typo in the ship’s name in the stat card has been fixed. (Report).
Interface
- Icons with hit results have been added to naval battles. To better assess the results of your own shooting, when hitting an enemy, a set of icons is displayed showing the result of each shell: hit, effective hit (if modules or crew were damaged), non-penetration, and through-penetration of the ship. These icons have a counter for each event, making it easier to assess the results of shooting during continuous shelling. In the near future, an option will be added to the menu that allows you to configure a set of icons or disable them completely.
- Damage indicators in the hit camera have been updated. Six damage indicators at the bottom of the hit camera, informing about damage to enemy guns, engines, flooding, etc have received a new design and an expanded set. There are now ten of them, and they are divided into three groups. The first group of five hexagonal icons, as before, notifies about damage to modules: main and secondary caliber guns, torpedo tubes, wheelhouse, boiler rooms and engine rooms. The second group of two hexagonal icons shows the explosion of the enemy’s ammunition magazine2s due to fire or detonation. And the third group of three round icons shows the enemy’s state: fire, flooding and reduced or lost speed. The fire icon can show a module fire causing damage to the crew (in yellow), or an ammunition magazine fire threatening an explosion (in red).
Economy and research
- The mechanics of new vehicles have been extended to the requirement for the number of vehicles to unlock the next rank. If there are few vehicles at the current rank (less than 5 or 6, depending on the type of vehicle and rank) and a new vehicle is added there, this new vehicle will not increase the requirement to unlock the next rank for 28 days from the moment of its release. For example, in this update, when adding the Sabra Mk.I to rank VII of Israel’s ground forces tree, the number of vehicles required to unlock rank VIII will remain equal to three (based on the number of “old” vehicles and vehicle groups at this rank), until the Sabra Mk.I is no longer considered new.
- F-4F KWS LV — Battle Rating in all modes has been reduced to 13.0.
- Leclerc, Leclerc S2 — both have been moved from rank VII to rank VIII. The OFL 120 G1 APFSDS round, which was previously located at tier I in the modification research window is now available by default. Silver Lions and Golden Eagles spent on researching this modification have been refunded.
- Vextra 105, AMX-40 — both have been moved from rank VI to rank VII.
Customization
- Camouflage nets on ground vehicles now change to the color of the camouflage selected for the vehicle. This was previously added only for two vehicles but now works on every vehicle that has a camouflage net.
- Challenger 2 TES, Challenger 2 OES — the camouflage net has been updated.
- A new font for “number” decals available for Chinese vehicles has been added.
- New winter camouflages for more modern vehicles of the USA, Germany, France and Netherlands have been added.
Awards
- A new award called “The end is near” has been added. It is awarded for shooting down a nuclear carrier aircraft that has already dropped the nuclear bomb.
- A new award called “One minute to midnight” has been added. It is awarded for completing a mission with a nuclear carrier aircraft without the nuke detonating.
- A bug that caused the “Doomsday!” award to not be awarded if the nuke was detonated after the player has left the nuke carrying aircraft by any means has been fixed.
Interface
- A new full-screen player profile window has been added. The only profile type at the moment is “Favorite Mode”. If the player has not chosen a favorite mode on their own, the one where they have fought the most battles in will be shown.
- The in-game shop for “Rookie trophy” now displays the exact drop chance for each item.
- The ability to move the range scale horizontally has been added to the sight settings menu. The scale is moved by dragging it with the mouse cursor.
- The ability to delete a custom sight preset has been added to the sight settings menu.
- The sorting in the lists for selecting a sight preset and selecting a reticle has been changed, now player-created files are displayed first.
- The ability to enable and configure the display of the type or name of the shell in the sight has been added to sight settings menu.
- An in-battle notification about successful missile evasion has been added. Currently the evasion is counted at the moment the missile is destroyed if its seeker had captured the player during the flight, but the missile failed to hit the target. The total amount of evasions per battle is also shown in the battle results screen.
Game mechanics
- In Ground Battles at night, illumination shells that periodically fired over the map by mission logic have been disabled.
- Saving of player shots and hits received by the player to the replay log with the ability to separately play back each hit in the protection analysis after the battle has been added. The server point of impact, angle of impact and state of the shell are saved in this log, and then the result is played back in the shot animation using this data. Currently only direct hits are logged, hits by close explosions of shells, rockets, missiles and bombs are not.
- Following the Roadmap: The ability to switch between the impact and delay/radio fuze has been added for shells and fuzes that had this ability in real life. The keybind to switch the fuze mode is called “Switch fuze mode” and can be found in the Controls menu under Ground Vehicles > Miscellaneous section.
- Following the Roadmap: Added mechanics for building boxes of ammunition with vehicles classed as Tank Destroyers, ATGM carriers (type listed in the stat card, not any vehicle with an ATGM), all SPAA vehicles and ground vehicles with additional rockets and bombs (Calliope, M26 T99, RBT-5, Cromwell V (RP-3), Matilda Hedgehog, Magach Hydra).
- Building and destroying boxes: Building boxes takes some time, during which the player must remain stationary next to it. The movement of the vehicle is not blocked. Boxes have a full damage model and can be destroyed by a hit or ram. The ability to destroy boxes is only available to the enemy and the player themselves. To avoid bad behavior, allies are not able to destroy the player’s constructions in all game modes.
- Additional box details: The number of built boxes depends on the number of vehicle weapon groups, from one to three: a separate box for artillery weapons and separate one for each additional group (SAM / rockets). For tanks with rockets and bombs, only one box can be built — the one for additional weapons, while the ammunition of main weapon can only be replenished at capture points, as before. Each built box contains as many shells / rounds as the player had at the time of respawn in battle, and will allow you to replenish the ammunition up to this amount.
- Only the player who built the ammunition box can replenish ammunition from it. After running out of shells in the box, it will automatically be destroyed. When enough damage is dealt to the box, the ammunition in it ignites, with the fire not only destroying the box, but also showing its position with a visual effect and causing damage to exposed vehicles if they fall into the radius of its destruction. Ammunition boxes can be rebuilt as many times as you like (including after they are destroyed), but there will only be remaining, unused shells inside. This means that at the beginning of the battle, the player could receive potentially double the amount of ammunition, which can be used at their own discretion through changing positions and replenishing ammunition from portable boxes.
- Arcade Battles replenishment changes: The mechanics of replenishing ammunition from boxes logically and technically conflict with the mechanics of arcade reloading of additional weapons, which activates after the complete use of additional weapons in Ground Arcade battles. In addition, the mechanics of arcade reloading blocked replenishment of ammunition for additional weapons at the capture point. The mechanics of arcade reloading have been removed, since replenishment of ammunition from boxes and at capture points are, in our opinion, more understandable with universal game mechanics.
Sound
- Dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds) has been increased, which will lead to increased readability and clarity of important sounds, such as sounds of engines of enemy vehicles.
- A custom sound design has been created for ADEN/DEFA aircraft cannons. Previously, these cannons used the sound of the NR-30 cannon.
- Aerial bombs now make noise (in addition to whistling) when approaching a listener on the ground a couple of seconds before hitting the ground.
- Voice events for launching guided missiles have been added to Naval Battles.
Controls
- A new configuration called “Xbox Controller, Modern Aviation” has been added to the Control Setup Wizard. This configuration has all the necessary settings to control high rank aircraft.
Graphical
- New Graphics API options:
- Direct3D 12 (beta): A more modern graphics API, which allows us to do optimizations and add new features, not available for Direct3D 11. This includes the use of FSR Anti Aliasing, Ray Tracing and more in the future. It also helps to optimize existing features, like rendering the scenery is less demanding on the CPU.
- New Anti Aliasing options:
- FSR 3.1: The Anti Aliasing (including the native one) and upscaling solution from AMD. Works under Direct3D 12 and Vulkan (currently available for Linux only), on all capable GPUs. Opens the door for frame generation in future updates.
- DLAA: DLSS is now updated to the latest version. Has a Native upscaling option, which is also known as DLAA. Opens the door for frame generation in future updates.
- XeSS: The Anti Aliasing (including the native one) and upscaling solution from Intel. Works under Direct3D 12.
- TSR: The next generation of TAA Anti Aliasing we already had in the game. Has the same performance but better image quality.
- New feature:
- Ray Tracing (beta) : War Thunder now has a Ray Tracing solution which doesn’t cut corners and works for all objects and map elements. It has allowed us to implement a wide range of high-quality graphical effects based on it. Ray tracing is currently available only for NVIDIA GPUs.
- New Ray Tracing options:
- Ray Traced Shadow Maps (RTSM): Replaces traditional shadow maps, for pixel perfect and physically accurate shadows. Works for sun shadows and also for dynamic lights, for high end GPUs.
- Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion (RTAO): Replaces traditional screen space ambient occlusion for physically accurate ambient shadows.
- Ray Traced Reflections (RTR): Replaces probe and screen space reflection techniques. Enabling physically accurate reflections and also reflections of objects off screen.
- Ray Traced Water Reflections: Replaces planar reflections used on water. While planar reflections were already good looking, this improves them, as the distortion is based on actual wave geometry.
- Ray Traced Translucent reflections: Replaces probe based reflections on translucent glass surfaces for accurate reflection of the world.
- The afterburner effects for aircraft have been updated.
- New effects for ground vehicle movement depending on the surface and type of vehicle have been added.
- The effects of rocket boosters for aircraft have been updated.
- A new system that physically and correctly simulates wind flows on the location, taking into account obstacles has been added. It allows for improved behavior of particles, which are now able to bend around the landscape, buildings, and other objects in the scene when moving.
- New system of vehicle contamination during battle has been added. The system of interaction between the environment (dust, dirt, water) and vehicles has been reworked. Now different parts of the game location have different effects on the appearance of ground vehicles.
- LERX Vapor effects have been added.
- New rain and snow effects have been added.
- The dynamics of the visual spread of fires on ships has been changed.
- When anti-aircraft missiles are destroyed in the air, there is now a chance for the engine compartment to continue moving purely visually.
- New effects for launching anti-aircraft missiles on ships and anti-aircraft missile systems have been added.
- During rain, the effect of water jets is shown from some objects, such as roof slopes.
- Physical behavior of all sparks in the game from shots, explosions, shell hits, fires, etc have been improved.
- The visual effect of missile aerial explosions has been improved.
- The effect of in-flight engine and ground vehicle fire has been reworked.
- When ships sink, debris will begin to float to the surface of the water.
- Physics of debris and particle behavior in explosions and impact effects have been reworked.
- Visual effects for sliding aircraft fuselages and wings on different surfaces have been added.
- Tracer visibility has been increased.
- The visual effect of flaming fuel spillage from fuel tanks of ground vehicles has been improved.
- Effects for targeting smoke have been improved.
- The effects of rocket explosions in the air have been reworked.
- Aircraft movement effects on different surfaces have been improved.
- Visuals for destruction of non-playable vehicles (cars, trucks) on maps have been improved.
- Motion Blur has been added. The setting can be turned on and its intensity can be adjusted. There is also an option to turn off blur from camera movement, leaving only blur from the movement of objects in the environment.
Matchmaking
- Ground SB 3_2:
- Removed M13 MGMC.
- Ground SB 4_2:
- Added CCKW 353 (M45).
- Removed M15 CGMC.
- Ground SB 5_2:
- Added: CCKW 353 (M45), ZSD63/PG87, T20, ST-A2.
- Removed: PT-76B, M15 CGMC, M16 MGMC.
- Ground SB 6_2:
- Removed Panther “Dauphiné”.
- Ground SB 8_2:
- Added: M48A1 (China), Sho’t, M48A1.
- Ground SB 8_2_2:
- Added: ZTS63, Centurion Mk.5 AVRE.
- Ground SB 9_2:
- Removed OF-40 (MTCA).
- Ground SB 10_2:
- Added Ra’am Sagol.
- Ground SB 11_2:
- Added: Challenger 2, Su-22M3 , Su-22UM3K .
