War Thunder News

Let’s take a look at the Su-30SM, a modern Russian multi-role two-seat fighter jet coming to the Hornet’s Sting major update!

[h2]Su-30SM: A Jet Fighter for the USSR at Rank VIII[/h2]
At a glance:

• Up to 12 weapon hardpoints.
  
• Huge arsenal of available weapons!
  
• New R-77-1 ARH air-to-air missile.
  
• Thrust vectoring control.
  

Vehicle History
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During the further development of the Su-27 series of fighters, the introduction of a second crew member became necessary. This was to be the pilot-operator who could take control of weapons and navigation systems and if needed, have the ability to replace the main pilot on long-distance flights. For the development of a two-seater variant, the Su-27UB was picked to be modified. It received a new pilot-operator seat and numerous improvements to on-board avionics and weapon control systems.

In 1988, the aircraft entered testing under the designation of Su-30. Due to the difficult economic situation, it was decided to offer the new fighter to foreign customers, the first being India. Based on one of the fighter upgrades for the needs of India, a modification for the Russian Air Force was developed in the early 2010s. This was the new Su-30SM model that entered testing in September 2012 and by the end of the same year began to enter active units.

The Su-30SM is currently in active service with the Aerospace Forces and Naval Aviation of the Russian Navy and is also in service with Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Myanmar.
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[h2]Introducing the Su-30SM![/h2]

One of the modern representatives of the Su-27 family is the two-seat variant of the Su-30SM, an advanced twin-engine fighter that’s currently in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces! This rather heavy and large-in-size multi-role fighter features a large payload and can accelerate to a maximum speed of about Mach 2, all while maintaining amazing maneuverability for its size. The Su-30SM also has the most advanced weapons among all USSR/Russian aircraft in the game. Let’s take a closer look!



The Su-30SM may feel familiar as it continues on from the Su-27SM, but will offer some interesting new features both in terms of piloting and weapons. Let’s start with its flight characteristics. Equipped with the AL-31F engine that provides speed and climb rates that are comparable to the Su-27, these engines have rotating nozzles, opening up new possibilities in full control modes. They can change the direction of thrust — known as thrust vectoring — along all axes during maneuvers, improving controllability at extreme angles. When you use this aircraft in the Hornet’s Sting major update, you’ll be able to temporarily disable the limitation on going beyond critical angles of attack and enable control of angular speeds while in battle — but do it at your own risk! In simplified modes, the moving nozzles help a little during takeoff and vertical maneuvers, and slightly increase the sharpness of turns.

Interesting: The famous “Russian Knights” aerobatic team uses the Su-30SM for training and aerobatic demonstration performances.



Moving on from flight performance, what about weaponry? The Su-30SM’s secondary weapons menu looks almost like a candy store for a sweet tooth: up to 12 hardpoints, a huge payload weight and countless combinations! Let’s start with weapons for air combat. The air-to-air missiles are mostly inherited from the Su-27SM, including the R-73, R-27ET and R-27ER with SARH homing head and inertial guidance system. Additionally there’s a new ARH homing missile, the R-77-1, featuring improved energy and an increased launch range.

In terms of weapons for use against ground targets, the available amount has become noticeably more diverse. Up first is the Kh-29L, Kh-29TD, Kh-38ML and Kh-38MT guided missile family from Sukhoi attack aircraft and bombers. Next, the KAB-1500Kr guided bombs have been supplemented by the small KAB-500Kr and the LG family bombs with a laser, satellite and inertial guidance KAB-250LG, KAB-500LG and KAB-1500LG, satellite-guided UPAB-500 and UPAB-1500 and the long-range Grom-2. To control these guided weapons, the Su-30SM features the new T220 targeting pod, the first targeting pod in the USSR aviation tree with wide viewing angles.



If for some reason you prefer old school or the mission objectives require attacking ground vehicles or destroying bases, then regular bombs come to the rescue! In addition to the above, there’s regular 100 to 1500 kg bombs, 500 kg parachute retarded bombs, 500 kg incendiary bombs, plus rockets including the large S-25. The icing on the cake is a modern radar with a passive phased array (PESA radar), providing fast target coordinate updates in TWS mode, an RWR and a modern cockpit with multiple multi-function displays (MFD).



That’s it for today! The Su-30SM is ready to become the USSR’s new hero at the top aviation battles in War Thunder — make sure to give it a try when it’s released in the Hornet’s Sting major update!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Tracked Rapier, featuring the new Rapier missile installed onto the back of a M548 cargo-carrier that was in service with the British Army!

[h2]RCM 748 Tracked Rapier: An SPAA for Great Britain at Rank VII[/h2]
At a glance:

• The brand-new Rapier missile — Mk.1E and Mk.2!
  
• 8 missiles ready to fire.
  
• 61 km/h max vehicle speed.
  
• Lightly armored.
  

Vehicle History
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The Rapier surface-to-air missile was developed for the British Army in the 1960s with the intention of replacing outdated and traditional anti-aircraft guns at RAF bases. This missile entered service with the British Army in 1971 as a static missile system.

An additional requirement by Iran was made to mount this missile system onto a tracked and mobile vehicle to help protect their Chieftain tanks. The Guided Weapons Division of BAC selected the American M548 as the vehicle and modified it to fit the Rapier missiles and a radar, which was first shown as the “Tracked Rapier” at the Paris Air Show in 1977. However, by the time Iran could receive orders, their government collapsed and had canceled defense contracts. Shortly after the British Army became interested and purchased several of these vehicles, first entering service in 1983 with the Royal Artillery.

The Tracked Rapier saw use in the Gulf War with the 12th and 16th Air Defence Regiments of the British Army. In the mid to late 1990s, it was phased out from service by the Stormer HVM vehicle. The RAF Cosford Museum has one Tracked Rapier on display.
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[h2]Introducing the Tracked Rapier![/h2]

In the Hornet’s Sting major update, Great Britain is receiving a rather awesome SAM platform in the form of the Tracked Rapier! This new vehicle features a brand-new piece of weaponry, the British Rapier missile that’s capable of taking out planes and helicopters. Let’s take a further look!



Introducing the surface-to-air Rapier missile, brand-new to the game! This missile is SACLOS guided — lock onto your target through the radar and let the missile follow and hit. The Rapier Mk.1E missile can fire at a range of 7 km and the Mk.2 at 8 km! These missiles are proximity based as well, meaning you just need to fire near your target and wait for it to explode, much like the Roland 2 missile.

Did you know? “Rapier” is a type of thin-bladed sword, mainly used by Spain and Italy in the 16th century. Quite a good name for the Rapier missile, describing its appearance rather aptly!



Since the Rapier missile system was originally intended and used in static positions to protect high value assets, Iran requested that it be mounted onto a mobile chassis, leading the British Aircraft Corporation to look for solutions. They selected the American M548 cargo-carrier as the vehicle of choice, which was heavily modified to fit these missiles and featured some more armor at the front. Regardless of this, the Tracked Rapier still lightly protected and can be taken out by most enemy fire, especially with only 3 crew members, so keep this in mind while driving around!



8 Rapier missiles (with no stowed spares) are mounted onto the back of the M548 and can rotate 360 degrees in place and have good elevation angles. Much like the Imp.Chaparral already in the game — which is also a modified M548 — the Tracked Rapier can reach a top speed of 61 km/h and weighs 14 tons. This platform can maneuver around decently but is not as good as many other contemporary vehicles regarding overall mobility. To top it off, there are smoke grenade launchers at the front and back of the vehicle, good for concealing against enemy fire.



That’s it for this dev blog! The Tracked Rapier is going to provide Great Britain with some awesome domestic SAM coverage when it arrives in the Hornet’s Sting major update. See you in a few!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

Two variants of this Russian tank destroyer are coming in the Hornet’s Sting major update — one as a standard researchable vehicle, and one as a squadron vehicle!

[h2]2S19M1 (researchable) and 2S19M2 (Squadron Vehicle): A Tank Destroyer for the USSR at Rank V[/h2]
At a glance:

• Long-barreled 152 mm howitzer!
  
• HE, APHEBC, and HEAT rounds.
  
• Autoloader.
  
• Good mobility.
  
• Not much armor protection.
  

Vehicle History
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The development of the 2S19 “Msta-S” began at the Ural Plant in 1976, and later on design bureaus of several companies in the Soviet’s military industry were involved in the work. The first one was released in 1983 and a year later, field tests began with the 2S19 being accepted into service in 1989. Based on operating experience, some shortcomings of the vehicle appeared, primarily related to the imperfect fire control system. These shortcomings were eliminated with the advent of the modernized 2S19M1 and 2S19M2 variants. In addition to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the 2S19 is in service with Venezuela, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Georgia.
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[h2]Introducing the 2S19M1 and 2S19M2![/h2]

In the Hornet’s Sting major update, the 2S19M1 and M2, featuring a long-barreled 152 mm howitzer, an automatic loader and a good selection of shells are coming to the Soviet ground forces tree. Specifically, the 2S19M1 will be in the research line and the 2S19M2 will come as a new Squadron Vehicle. Let’s take a closer look!



The main weapon of the 2S19M1 and M2 is the long-barreled 152 mm howitzer that features automatic gun loading. There’s a plethora of available shells for this mighty gun, including two HE shells with up to 11.7 kg in TNT equivalent, a HE-VT shell, a HEAT shell and an APHEBC shell. These are all good for different scenarios that you may encounter while in battle!

All of the available ammunition — where a maximum of 50 can be taken into battle — is stored in the turret and is fed into the breech of the gun through an autoloader. The rate of fire is the main difference between the researchable 2S19M1 and 2S19M2 squadron vehicle at 8 and 10 rounds per minute respectively. Both reload rates are good and don’t depend on the skills of your crew!



Interesting: Most likely, “Msta” was named after a small river that flows in the Novgorod and Tver regions of Russia. However, there is also a version that the name of this vehicle is associated with an obsolete form of the word “revenge” in Russian.

If the 2S19M1 and M2’s hull looks familiar, then you’re right. This hull is from the T-80 and T-72 series tanks, with reworked armor protection parameters to reduce the overall weight. The 2S19M1 and M2 can reach a maximum road speed of 60 km/h, but — as very typical to Soviet and Russian tanks — the reverse speed is really poor at just 4 km/h.



In terms of surviving hits from enemy tanks, well it might be a bit of a problem. That’s because this vehicle is huge in size, has a low reverse speed, has poor gun depression and is very difficult to hide the vehicle in a bush or behind terrain cover. In addition to this, the 2S19M1 and M2 will generally be an easy target for aircraft due to the large size and thin armor. This armor will be able to withstand fire from machine guns, but anything larger in caliber will pierce straight through and give you a bad day.

So, we’ve talked about the good and bad. How do you play this thing? Get to a good position for sniper fire or go behind your teammates when attacking as a support vehicle. With a careful, yet aggressive playstyle, the 2S19M1 and M2 will show their best side thanks to their firepower and reload speed.



That’s it for this one! You can research the 2S19M1 in the Soviet research tree and get the 2S19M2 for squadron activity points or buy it outright for Golden Eagles with the release of the Hornet’s Sting major update. Happy tanking!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.

A big thanks to all who submitted screenshots last week! This week we will be focused on the smaller vehicles with lots of agility. Take a picture with a fighter aircraft, light tank, or coastal vessel! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 161st edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen161. You have time until the 7th of March to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

[h3]Terms:[/h3]

Your screenshot must include a Light Tank, Coastal Vessel, or Fighter.
You must add the #WTscreen161 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.
• Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.
  
• You need to be the author of the screenshot.
  
• Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.
  
• We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).
  
• You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.
  
• You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.
  
• Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 14 working days.
  

[h2]And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 160th edition – The Lone Wolf![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3432117623
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3433494973
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3434205242

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3434650257
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3434339899
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3433069791

Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

The Aérospatiale Alouette III multi-purpose helicopter designed by French company Sud Aviation made its first flight on February 28th, 1959. This helicopter was popular among countries and saw widespread service, with more than 2,000 Alouette III helicopters being produced. The number of operating countries reached 80, with Romania being one of them who gave the helicopter the designation of IAR 316.

[h2]The IAR 316B is temporarily available at a 30% discount for Golden Eagles![/h2]
You can get this helicopter at a 30% discount for 5,992 Golden Eagles!



When: From today until March 3rd (11:00).
Where: France > Helicopter > Premium vehicles.

About this helicopter

• The IAR 316B (rank V) is a Romanian-produced variant of the SA 316B, differing from the original Alouette III in that it has a new engine and a reinforced main and tail rotor. The IAR 316B is armed with two 7.62 mm machine guns and Malyutka-2 ATGMs and S-5K rockets for use against ground vehicles!