War Thunder News

Today, we’re pleased to announce that a new line comprised of Dutch and Belgian aircraft will be making their way to War Thunder as part of the French air tree! In the next major update these vehicles will be reinforcing the French ranks, so let’s take a look!

[h3]The BeNeLux Union[/h3]
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The economic union between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg was formally established in 1944, with the initial intention of supporting the post-war recovery between the three nations, which have very strong diplomatic, trade, and of course geographical ties.
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[h3]Belgian Air Force [/h3]
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The Belgian Air Force was officially formed in 1946, but operated as a branch of the Belgian Army as early as 1909! Despite this early formation, Belgium had a relatively small air force during the First World War due to a general lack of available aircraft, despite this though the small force boasted several aces.

During the outbreak of the Second World War, Belgium was similarly equipped with only a small force of older designs, which couldn’t stand up to the far more numerous Luftwaffe fighters. Despite the surrender on May 28th 1940, a small group of Belgian pilots in exile operated with the RAF, flying Spitfires and Typhoons.

Into the jet age, Belgium flew a variety of famous examples throughout the years, and currently operate several variants of the much loved F-16, as well as brand-new F-35.
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[h3]Royal Netherlands Air Force[/h3]
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Similarly to Belgium, the Royal Netherlands Air Force was formed in 1953, but operated as a branch of the army from 1913. As the Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War their air activity during this time was primarily spent on training and the general growth of the air branch.

During the German invasion of the Netherlands in the Second World War, the Royal Netherlands Air Force was overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the Luftwaffe, losing all of their combat aircraft and the vast majority of their pilots as well. A number of Dutch pilots escaped however, and flew in RAF and RAAF service until the end of the War. Pilots of the Dutch colonies in the East Indies actively resisted the Japanese air force, and then continued fighting as part of the Australian Air Force.

After the Royal Netherlands Air Force was officially founded, the ranks of their service aircraft were filled with a wide variety of American and British planes, with their types upgrading and improving over time to suit modern requirements.
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[h3]Meet the new line![/h3]



This new branch in the French aviation tree will contain a mix of Belgian and Dutch aircraft. The collective is indeed known as BeNeLux, but as Luxembourg currently does not and did not operate any military aircraft historically (aside from army transport, liaison and recon) they won’t be represented here in the air tree. Let’s take a look at the first batch of aircraft!

Developer comment: Our overall goal with the inclusion of a BeNeLux line is to give France more options and versatility, allowing for the creation of stronger lineups throughout the ranks with a variety of different vehicles. BeNeLux don’t quite have enough machines to make a full tree on their own without significant gaps in unit types and eras, so in order to include these machines in War Thunder they’ll be supporting the French tree.

The majority of vehicles joining the line first will be made up of British and American vehicles that were historically used, with the line kicking off with the familiar Gladiator Mk I, which was ordered in the late 1930s. Belgium will be receiving a wide variety of units overall, including the British Spitfire FR Mk XIVe, Meteor Mk 8, as well as the American F-104G, F-16A Block 15 and the F-16AM Block 15 MLU! They’ll also be receiving the Mirage 5BA, a variant specifically intended for Belgium.



The Netherlands will also have some interesting examples in the line, including the British Firefly FR Mk IV, Hunter F.6, and of course the domestic Fokker G.1A! This variant is armed with 8 x 7.9 mm machine guns in the nose, the caliber may be small but the concentration of fire is undeniably high!



These aircraft will be the first to join the French ranks as part of the new line in the next major update, though of course more examples will be making their way into the game in the future as well.

We’re very happy to include these aircraft and their unique history into the game. We hope you’ll enjoy bolstering your lineups with these powerful aircraft upon the release of the next major update, so until then stay tuned! There’s a lot more to come.

It’s customary to honor the Canadian Armed Forces on the first Sunday in June. Canada actively participated in World War II: the defense of Hong Kong in 1941, the raid on Dieppe in 1942, the liberation of Italy in 1943, Operation Overlord in 1944 and guarding convoys in the Atlantic Ocean. There are currently 68,000 people in the Canadian Armed Forces, 3,000 of which are stationed outside the country.

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From May 31st until June 3rd (11:00 GMT).

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[h2]Earn the “Lesser emblem of the Canadian army” decal![/h2]
Get this cool decal for this day!

“Lesser emblem of the Canadian army” decal

When: From May 31st until June 3rd (11:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using British vehicles at rank III or higher to receive the “Lesser emblem of the Canadian army” decal.

Additional details:

• You must use a minimum of rank III.
  
• Your activity must not be below 70%.
  
• You can complete the task in random battles, except for Enduring Confrontation missions, and [Assault] mode.
  
• Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → Canadian Armed Forces Day.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Allies → Tanks” tab in the Customization menu.
  

For the second major tournament event of 2024, following six weeks of intense competition, team DODEC emerged as the ultimate winners of the Air Superiority 2024 Tournament. They dominated each round of the winners bracket before facing team Wasted Time in the final who pushed them to the limit, with a final score of 5-4 on the late BO9.

Team DODEC have now claimed back to back victories in two major tournament events! Who can stop them?



Congratulations to the winners and all participants!

Thanks to VIRPIL Controls for sponsoring this event and offering great prizes for our winners.



Armored Apex
The Open Qualifiers for our next major tournament event will open in the coming weeks, this time it's going to be 4v4 Tanks in Realistic Battles featuring high tier vehicles.

Keep up to date by joining our social networks, including Telegram and Discord to ensure that you do not miss out on information for the qualification phases.

[h2]Meet the new “Air Superiority” pack[/h2]
War Thunder - “Air Superiority” pack

In this pack:
"Flanking Snail" decal
"Slick flanker" title
300 Golden Eagles

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Introducing the next major update teaser for War Thunder - "Seek & Destroy"

The Western Front is opening! Take part in Ground Battles during the Operation Overlord event as part of our event cycle to receive the Churchill AVRE. This legendary armored vehicle, integral to the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, was a direct participant in the battles for Normandy, and you can earn this main reward during this event! Celebrate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in War Thunder!

[h3]When: From June 5th (11:00 GMT) until June 17th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Ground Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards![/h3]

[h2]Churchill AVRE — A Premium Heavy Tank for Great Britain at Rank II[/h2]

The Churchill AVRE was first used on D-Day during the Normandy Landings and is armed with a 230 mm Spigot Mortar, specifically designed for use against fortifications. It fires a huge projectile also known as the “Flying Dustbin” that weighs 18 kg, enough to put fear into any enemy tank that it comes up against!



Among the rewards in the event is also this chest, where, when opened, brings the chance to receive one of the following items:

• 50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
  
• Silver Lion and Research Point boosters
  
• Random Wagers and Orders
  
• Universal Backups (1 - 3)
  
• A random camouflage for a vehicle you own
  
• 1 day of Premium Account
  

[h2]How to get all rewards[/h2]
Each stage can be obtained for 35,000 mission points, where every new stage obtained will give you a new reward.

[h3]Please note: After finishing a stage, you need to collect the reward manually. To do this, click on your name in-game, go to “Operation Overlord: Churchill AVRE” and click the “Get Reward” button.[/h3]

You’re able to earn mission points in Ground Battles at Rank III or above in Arcade, Realistic and Simulator Battles. The number of mission points to complete a stage depends on the game mode and the maximum Rank of the vehicle that you use in battle. There’s a multiplier for earning mission points, which is shown in the task description in-game.

You can also earn mission points by using event vehicles that are Rank I and II. Event vehicles that can be used have the name of the event that they were obtainable in on their stat card.

[h3]Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT on June 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 15th. [/h3]

[h2]Rewards are given when you complete a specific number of stages[/h2]

• For 1 Stage: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 2 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 3 Stages: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 4 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 5 Stages: “Flying Dustbin” decoration
  
• For 6 Stages: non-tradable coupon for Churchill AVRE
  

[h2]Discounts on purchasing stages using Golden Eagles[/h2]
Unfinished stages can be purchased for Golden Eagles, but If you’re significantly close to completing a stage, its price will now be significantly reduced.

Let’s say you have earned 85% of the required mission points to complete a stage, then the price of purchasing this stage will be halved. If you’re near the finish line for a stage and are at 95% progress, then the price will be reduced by five times. For example, if you’ve scored 30,000 mission points, then the price for unlocking this stage will be 349 Golden Eagles. If you’ve scored 33,500 mission points, then you’ll only need to pay 139 Golden Eagles. Remember to keep this in mind if you cannot complete a stage on time!

[h2]The Upgrade for coupon [/h2]
When you complete 6 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the Churchill AVRE, where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from June 5th (11:00 GMT) until June 17th (11:00 GMT) for 500,000 mission points.

After receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” item, you can convert a non-tradable coupon for the vehicle into a tradable one and sell it on the Market. The tradable coupon can be sold after 6 days from the moment it’s created.

To make a tradable coupon, select the “Coupon Churchill AVRE (Great Britain)” in your inventory and click the “Modify” button.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until 11:00 GMT on June 20th. Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.

You can track the progress of completing stages and receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” by clicking on your Nickname > Achievements > Operation Overlord. If you don’t manage to complete a stage on time or would like to purchase a stage, until June 20th from the Achievements window, you can purchase each stage with Golden Eagles which will give you the corresponding rewards.