War Thunder News

The new J-8F is an upgraded version of the famous Chinese jet fighter, equipped with helmet-mounted sight and advanced weapons! Meet one of the champions of the upcoming La Royale update!

[h2]J-8F, jet fighter, China, rank VIII[/h2]

Features:

• New fire control system
  
• High max speed and climb rate
  
• Deadly all-aspect PL-8 missiles
  
• Drains energy in turn-fighting
  

The modern J-8F jet fighter will become China's new top-tier aircraft, which will be available in the upcoming La Royale major update. Today we will tell you about this wonderful aircraft, and also reveal the plans of the War Thunder development team for long-range air combat missiles.

So, the new J-8 series aircraft comes as a remedy for those imperfections the previous model the J-8B had. The J-8F received modern avionics - a new, more reliable and sensitive radar, as well as a new fire control system, which includes not only the HUD, but also the pilot's visor. From the previous model, the new J-8F receives very good PL-5B missiles, however, the new all-aspect PL-8 with a launch range of up to 18 km will become the main weapon for air combat. The high G-tolerance of the PL-8 missiles, combined with convenient sight via a helmet-mounted targeting system, make the J-8F one of the best interceptors in War Thunder.

[h3]

The J-8F is known to carry the PL-12 BVRAAMs (beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles), but adding them to the game would mean the J-8F has a significant advantage over all opponents on the battlefield. Our team also had the idea to equip the fighter with PL-11 missiles as a placeholder, but such missiles could not be used on the J-8F due to lack of the target illumination radar. Therefore, we decided to introduce a set of 6 PL-8 missiles for the J-8F, which make the aircraft an excellent duellist at medium and close distances. The PL-12 missiles, same as other medium-range active seeker missiles for fighters of other game nations, will appear in War Thunder at the same time in one of the future game updates.

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The J-8F is also equipped with new engines with slightly better thrust ratings. The fast fighter becomes a little faster - now its maximum speed at high altitude is about 2350 km/h (~M 2.25). In the La Royale update, both J-8 aircraft will also receive differential elevator deflection, which significantly improves roll speed. Excellent maneuverability for its weight, one of the distinguishing features of the series, has become even better! It is worth remembering however that the aircraft tends to bleed speed quickly in sharp turns, so altitude and speed are still the key to success for the J-8F.

Despite its primary purpose as an interceptor, the J-8F can also be used in mixed battles. To kill armored vehicles, the fighter is equipped with new high drag bombs and Type 90-1 HEAT rocket pods. As usual, the weapon configurator will help the pilot to configure the aircraft for any combat mission!



The J-8F fighter, nicknamed “Handsome Sky Lad” in China, will be added to rank VIII of the Chinese aviation tech tree in the La Royale update, which is almost ready. We can’t wait, just like you!

[h2]Aircraft SB [Enduring Confrontation][/h2]

• The accuracy of SPAA vehicles in vehicle convoys and in the fields of ground battles has been reduced.
  

The current provided changelog reflects the major changes within the game as part of this Update. Some updates, additions and fixes may not be listed in the provided notes. War Thunder is constantly improving and specific fixes may be implemented without the client being updated.

The BTR-80A armored personnel carrier is one of the iconic vehicles originating from the Soviet army. Meet the workhorse of the Russian motorized infantry in the incoming La Royale update!

[h2]BTR-80A, light tank, USSR, rank IV[/h2]

Features:

• 30mm auto-cannon
  
• High max speed
  
• Amphibious
  
• Huge profile
  
• Poor armor
  

The BTR-80A comes to the game as a new Soviet mid-rank light tank. The iconic profile of the APC will appear in the hangars of Soviet tankers with the La Royale update!

The BTR-80A armored personnel carrier was designed for delivering troops to the combat area and providing them with fire support, including against lightly armored vehicles. The vehicle is armed with a 30mm 2A72 automatic cannon and armor-piercing shells with a maximum penetration of about 60mm. The gun has a good rate of fire, heats up slowly and is fed by belts.



The 8x8 design allows the BTR-80A to perform well even on soft terrain. On paved roads the BTR-80A can reach speeds of up to 87 km/h.

The cons of this APC are its size and poor protection. The long hull and high profile make the BTR-80A visible from afar and hard to hide - and hiding is vital for this vehicle, since its armor can only protect against shrapnel and light machine guns. Any .50 machine-gun with armor-piercing bullets would pierce this giant quite easily.



However, the charisma of the legendary BTR-80A is much stronger than its shortcomings! In the La Royale update, we invite you to test the BTR-80A, as well as dozens of other new vehicles, in which you will be able to see new locations, new game features and improvements to your favorite game!

[h2]Ground vehicles[/h2]

• Pantsir-S — incorrect animation of the folded radar has been fixed.
  

[h2]Aircraft[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed that caused incorrect data display after switching off the HUD interface (rеport).
  

[h2]Naval[/h2]

• PT-658 — 3rd person view zoom camera position has been fixed.
  
• Dynamic water line has been added to the naval hit camera to show current depth, trim and heel of the ship.
  

[h2]Graphics[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed where the helicopter vortex effect on the ground or over the ground surface was not visible to others.
  

[h2]Other[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed where rapid toggling through nations might cause vehicles on the Premium vehicle pad to remain from the previously selected nation instead of the current.
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed that prevented a refresh of the countermeasure selection after editing of the user weapon setups.
  
• A bug has been fixed that prevented help with the repairing indication on squad member vehicles.
  
• Shortcut conflict has been fixed while opening personal tasks with a gamepad in the spectator’s mode.
  
• Players are now able to open personal tasks from the statistics window.
  

[h2]Mac[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed where the system cursor was visible in the game.

The current provided changelog reflects the major changes within the game as part of this Update. Some updates, additions and fixes may not be listed in the provided notes. War Thunder is constantly improving and specific fixes may be implemented without the client being updated.

The French 155mm Au F.1 SPG built on the chassis of the AMX-30 main battle tank and features an autoloader with 36 round mechanized ammo rack!

[h2]Au F.1, SPG, France, rank V[/h2]

Features:

• Timed fuse shells
  
• Huge automated ammo rack
  
• High rate of fire
  
• High profile
  
• Mediocre protection
  

In the La Royale update, the Au F.1 self-propelled gun will become a new French vehicle at research rank V. The huge turret accommodates a long 155 mm gun with an autoloader and mechanized ammo rack for 36 (sic!) rounds, which provides a rate of fire of just 7.5 seconds per shot!

The Au F.1 lacks armor-piercing shells and the player starts researching the vehicle with high-explosive fragmentation rounds that contain 6.8 kg of TNT. This is a quite effective weapon that often leads to the destruction of the crew by the overpressure and almost always heavily damages enemy modules. However, after researching the time fuse shells the Au F.1 reveals new combat opportunities. These rounds feature more powerful explosives and detonate above the roof of the tower or engine compartment of enemy vehicles, which are always protected much weaker than the front and sides. The rangefinder is of great use here, it is time to master it, if you haven’t before.



Au F.1 is built on the chassis of the AMX 30 tank and has good speed characteristics for its dimensions, but if we talk about survivability, then these same dimensions become the main drawback of the vehicle. The massive breech of the gun, a huge ammo rack for large-caliber shells, the autoloader and crew seats require a lot of space. The Au F.1's turret is truly gigantic, while being protected only from shrapnel and partly from autocannon fire. The Au F.1 is difficult to hide and very difficult to survive under enemy fire.



You can research the charismatic and dangerous Au F.1 self-propelled gun in the next major War Thunder update called La Royale. In the meantime, we will continue to introduce you to the most interesting news of the upcoming update. See you soon!