War Thunder News

The F-16A Fighting Falcon jet fighter comes as a pioneer of the rank VIII aviation in the game. The ultimate vulture rises up to the War Thunder skies in the upcoming Apex Predators update!

[h2]F-16A Fighting Falcon, USA/Israel/China, jet fighter, rank VIII[/h2]
Features:

• Great climb rate and throttle response
  
• G-tolerance of up to 9-10G
  
• Advanced avionics and fire control systems
  
• Arsenal of guided and unguided weapons
  

Two projects from Northrop and General Dynamics reached the final of the LWF (LightWeight Fighter) competition to create a new light fighter for the US Air Force. In January 1975, the winner of the competition was the YF-16, developed by General Dynamics. Intense testing continued after the launch of the F-16A fighter into series, and was completed only in 1978. The new generation fighter was designed for Mach 2 speeds and was able to perform maneuvers at 9G overloads, which was even higher than the requirements declared in the competition. The F-16A took her full-scale baptism of fire in service with the Israeli Air Force over Lebanon in the early 80s. The jet fighters were also used against ground targets during Operation Desert Storm. Consistently improving, the F-16A fighters are being produced and modernized to this day. In addition to the United States, a number of foreign countries have become operators of the F-16A Fighting Falcon fighters, including Belgium, Israel, Pakistan, Italy, Indonesia and others. Fighters are produced both domestically and under license.



In the upcoming War Thunder update Apex Predators, the supersonic F-16A Fighting Falcon will become one of the first rank VIII aircraft in the game. In various modifications, F-16A fighters will be the new top tiers of the USA, Israel and China.

The key differences of the 4th generation fighters are the double bypass engines with an afterburner and the ability to operate at high G-loads. The F-16A has an excellent climb rate (about 305 m/s with minimal payload) and can climb almost vertically immediately after take off. The jet fighter easily breaks the sonic barrier and at the same time preserves excellent controllability and roll speed, allowing the pilot to perform all basic combat maneuvers. These qualities make the F-16A truly deadly opponent in aerial duels and allow the fighter to evade most missiles.



In addition to excellent flight characteristics, the F-16A boasts very solid ordnance for various combat scenarios. The fighter can be used as a pure interceptor by equipping up to 6 Sidewinder missiles, including the most maneuverable all-aspect AIM-9L. Surprisingly, the light and compact F-16A easily turns into a bomb strafer. The release of 19x500 lb bombs, incendiary bombs and unguided rockets is controlled by a ballistic computer, which makes it easy to attack any ground target in any game mode. However, in mixed battles the “fire and forget” air-to-surface weapons will be the best option. F-16A wields up to four 2,000 lb GBU-8 gliding bombs or up to 6 devastating AGM-65B Maverick missiles. These can operate from high altitudes and at high speeds, leaving the F-16A room to maneuver and defend.



Well, a new king of the sky comes to the game! Will someone dare to challenge this title from the venerable Fighting Falcon? We'll tell you very soon in our Devblog series. See you soon, stay alert!

• A bug that could lead to FPS dropping to 0, freezes and lag in aircraft SB and helicopter PvE has been fixed (report 1, report 2).
  
• ZA-35 — A bug where after switching on and off the radar animation of the antenna rotation caused it to become twitchy has been fixed.
  
• Correct lateral acceleration for the R-530F and Aspide-1A, which means 20G and 25G respectively.
  

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.

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Prepare yourself for the arrival of Apex Predators!

Pre-order new store packs with Premium aircraft of rank VII with unique bonuses!

[h3]These packs can be pre-ordered from the Gaijin Store.[/h3]

[h2]MiG-21bis “Lazur-M”[/h2]
The export version of the MiG-21bis is one of the top performers in War Thunder in terms of max speed and climb rate. In addition to amazing speed, in combat the MiG relies on top rated missiles and an onboard defense system that includes a radar warning unit and flare/chaff pods. The version with the Lazur-M targeting system commissioned in 1975 was in service with the air defense forces of East Germany. As a pre-order bonus, players will receive a unique Czech Air Force camouflage with a splinter pattern.



[h2]F-104S-TAF Starfighter[/h2]
The Italian F-104S Starfighter is a compact, agile and fast jet fighter with a rocket-like climb rate and deadly weapons for both dogfights and ground strikes. The Premium F-104S-TAF is an export version of the aircraft for the Turkish Air Force, intended primarily for close air support. Exceptionally high speed and good maneuverability make it possible to deliver lightning-fast missile and bomb strikes at tree-top heights, avoiding AA fire. To deal with enemy aircraft, the F-104S-TAF can equip AIM-9B and AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles.



[h2]Kfir Canard[/h2]
Kfir Canard jet fighters are upgraded early series Kfir fighters equipped with small canards installed on the nose and engine intakes. In 1985, 25 of these aircraft were leased by the US Navy and US Marine Corps as Soviet MiG-23 simulators. Being in service with the US Navy, Israeli fighters received the designation F-21A Lion. Premium Kfir Canard fighter-bombers provide air support to ground units, delivering huge payloads of bombs and rockets at very high speeds. Flare/chaff pods and second-generation AIM-9D and AIM-9G missiles will help the aircraft protect itself from air threats.



[h3]These packs can be pre-ordered from the Gaijin Store.[/h3]

Upgraded T-80U MBT with a hard-kill active protection system will be the main tank prize of the upcoming special winter event!

[h2]T-80UM-2, main battle tank, USSR, rank VII. Event vehicle.[/h2]
Features:

• Drozd hard-kill APS
  
• Decent armor-piercing rounds
  
• Good max speed
  
• Lacks thermal vision
  

The T-80UM-2 was one of the prototypes created under the upgrade program of the T-80U tanks, which were produced by the Omsk Transport Engineering Plant. The T-80UM-2 was equipped with the Drozd hard-kill active protection system. After a dynamic demonstration in 1997 of the only T-80UM-2 built, the vehicle did not go into further series.



The main prize of the upcoming winter event for War Thunder tankers will be the Soviet experimental main battle tank T-80UM-2 with the Drozd hard-kill active protection system. The very high combat characteristics of the nimble Soviet top-tier MBT are complemented by an ability of destroying guided anti-tank missiles on approach! Neat!

The T-80UM-2 is a modified T-80U main battle tank already familiar to the weathered commanders of Russian armored vehicles. An oft picked vehicle for high-ranking battles in War Thunder, this tank is distinguished by high speed and mobility, has an automatic loader, capable of firing ATGMs directly from the gun, and is armed with a punchy AP round capable of penetrating over 500 mm armor at all firing distances. In addition, the T-80U is quite well protected, especially at the front, where multilayer combined armor are supplemented by the ERA modules. All these advantages are raised by the T-80UM-2 that offers additional hard-kill APS protection.



The Drozd active protection system is also known to the players in the T-55AMD-1 tank. Unlike the Iron Fist system of the British Challenger Black Knight tank, the Russian Drozd only protects the front of the tank’s turret, albeit in a rather wide sector. On the other hand, the Russian APS has twice as many shots as the British. The Drozd is effective against anti-tank guided missiles, which are the main weapon of the light ATGM carriers and helicopters. With some probability, the hard-kill APS is also able to counteract HEAT rounds at the end of the trajectory, but it still remains powerless against kinetic rounds.



A fly in the ointment is the lack of thermal vision devices in the crew sights. Since the tank was built as a prototype, the old fire control system remained from the original T-80U. In night battles, the T-80UM-2 relies on night vision devices and an IR searchlight.

The T-80UM-2 will become a rank VII event vehicle of the Soviet tech tree, which will go to the most stubborn participants of the special winter event in War Thunder. We will soon announce more information about other prizes and rules of the event here, in the Development Diaries series. Stay tuned friends!