War Thunder News

The Spähpanzer 2 Luchs is a German wheeled reconnaissance vehicle developed in the late 1960s, set to replace the aging American and French light tanks serving the same role at the time.

[h2]Luchs A2: A Light Tank for Germany at Rank V[/h2]
At a glance:

• Excellent mobility!
  
• Light protection overall.
  
• Powerful autocannon with great gun depression!
  
• Thermal imager.
  
• Amphibious.
  

 
Vehicle History
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In the 1960s, the Bundeswehr sought to develop a new wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, intended to replace the dated American M41 Walker Bulldog and French SP1A. The German Ministry of Defence outlined the need for a reconnaissance vehicle that featured exceptional mobility, a long cruising range, day and night scouting capability as well being logistically and economically efficient to produce and maintain. By 1968, two leading designs were put forward for evaluation. One from a conglomerate of companies including Thyssen-Henschel, MAN and Krupp among others, while the second design was presented by Daimler-Benz. Rigorous testing of these designs took place throughout the early 1970s, leading to improvements to both designs along the way.

Ultimately the Daimler-Benz design ended up winning, it was picked by the Bundeswehr for production in 1973 under the name “Spähpanzer 2 Luchs”. The first production models rolled off the assembly line in 1975, with the last of the 408 Luchs models ordered being completed in 1977. The Luchs served with the Bundeswehr well into the early 2000s, receiving several upgrades and modernizations throughout its server life. By 2009 however, it was recognized that the Luchs had fallen into obsolescence, and the 68 vehicles that remained were finally retired.
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[h2]Meet the Luchs A2![/h2]

The Luchs will soon be joining rank V of the German ground forces tree in the Firebirds major update, adding a versatile light support vehicle for the cold war lineups. Ready to take a look at what this beast can do? Then join us for the details below!



Being a unique wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, the Luchs will complement the German lineup of post-war machines nicely. Being even lighter and far more agile than the Marder IFV, the Luchs is poised to become the new vehicle of choice for those who prefer the flanks. Weighing in at just under 20 tons, the Luchs can get to 90 km/h on roads and can cruise around 50 km/h off-road with ease. In addition, the Luchs is also completely amphibious and can reach speeds of 10 km/h on water, which expands its tactical options further.

On the other hand however, the Luchs is only able to boast mobility of this degree by limiting its armor protection. The Luchs is able to withstand shrapnel and small-arms fire but anything else will spell trouble, even heavy machine guns can pose a threat from the sides. Luckily though, the great mobility of the Luchs can keep it out of danger for the most part, it can quickly hit the flanks and reach strong positions before the enemy even notices!



Once engaged in combat, the Luchs can rely on its Rh 202 20 mm autocannon to shred through lightly armored vehicles or low flying aircraft thanks to its high elevation. Due to only having autocannon armament however, the Luchs will struggle to get through MBTs and stronger targets from the front. To deal with tougher opponents, the Luchs will need to get up close and personal! The autocannon is stronger at close range, but this puts the Luchs in a more vulnerable position, so you’ll have to pick your moment to strike! Sticking with friendly tanks will be important here, as the autocannon can easily tear off tracks and damage barrels, which will make combating them much easier for your teammates.



Get ready to give the Luchs A2 a warm welcome as it arrives in the higher ranks of the German ground forces tree in the Firebirds major update! In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news and keep up to date on all the latest developments regarding the next major update, until then, happy hunting!

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

[h2]Other[/h2]

• A very spooky hangar has been enabled in time for the holiday season.
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• A bug that sometimes caused the Research Points reward in the “Other awards” category in the battle results message to display a negative value has been fixed. Please note that this bug was purely visual and didn’t affect the actual amount of earned RP.
  
• A bug that caused the measured distance display to move upwards when measuring the distance in a zoomed in scope and then zooming out has been fixed.
  

Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.

Thanks for submitting all of your screenshots last week! The water has some pretty neat effects- Fly as low as you dare in a jet aircraft, and you can watch the jet wake interact with the water! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 143rd edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen143. You have time until the 1st of November 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 feature the Halloween event, or the colors black, orange, and white.
You must add the #WTscreen143 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 142nd edition – Rivers and Oceans![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3351159342
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3352126383
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3351484606

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3351128947
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3353238198
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3352061561

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

The Strike Eagle is an American strike fighter derived from the F-15 Eagle under a private venture by the McDonnell Douglas company, slated to arrive to War Thunder in the Firebirds major update!

[h2]F-15E Strike Eagle: A Strike Aircraft for the USA at Rank VIII[/h2]
At a glance:

• Greatly expanded ordnance options.
  
• Excellent flight characteristics!
  
• Precision munition.
  
• Mach 2.0 capable.
  

Vehicle History
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Immediately after the F-15 entered service, McDonnell Douglas began studying the possibility of converting the aircraft into an effective ground attacker on its own initiative, based on the assessment that the aircraft possessed good potential for this. Despite lacking initial interest from the Air Force, this soon changed with the announcement of the competition for the Enhanced Tactical Fighter, whose aim was to identify a replacement for dated aircraft serving in the interdiction role. Although the program had been briefly suspended due to financial reasons, it resumed in early 1982.

While pitting the so-called “Strike Eagle” against modified and regular F-16 fighters, the Air Force eventually chose the F-15E as its preferred choice for the replacement of the F-111. As a result, an order for 392 aircraft was initially signed by the USAF, which was later cut down to 227. The first production aircraft entered service in April 1988. Shortly after entering service, the F-15E Strike Eagle took part in the Gulf War as well as in operations on the Balkans during the 1990s. In the early 2000s, the F-15E also took part in combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The F-15E remains in service with the USAF to this day as one of its main strike aircraft.
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[h2]Meet the F-15E Strike Eagle![/h2]

The F-15E Strike Eagle is on course to join the top rank of the American aviation tree as one of the highlights arriving to War Thunder with the Firebirds major update. Building on the superb performance characteristics of the base fighter variant, the F-15E features a true plethora of modifications and upgrades all with the aim of substantially bolstering the Eagle’s ground attack capabilities. Keen to find out how successful American engineers were in this undertaking? Then join us on answering this question as we take a closer look at this new bird of prey!



Although the F-15E greatly resembles its dedicated fighter counterpart, you won’t miss the first indication of this bird’s designated role as a strike aircraft. Namely, the F-15E features a twin seater cockpit, accommodating the pilot as well as the weapon’s officer. Nevertheless, being modified into a dedicated strike aircraft doesn’t mean that the F-15E suddenly turned into a cumbersome bomber capable of only lifting a sizable payload. In fact, thanks to its two familiar Pratt & Whitney F100 afterburning turbofan engines, the F-15E can achieve a top speed of well over Mach 2 at higher altitudes while its sleek airframe enables it to perform sharp maneuvers. In other words, with the right weapon selection, the F-15E is just as capable of a dogfighter as the dedicated fighter variants, especially thanks to its access to the more advanced AIM-120B missile.

Interesting: Open sources mention a case of an Iraqi Mi-24 being destroyed by a GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bomb that was dropped by an American F-15E Strike Eagle!



However, where the F-15E really stands out from its close relatives is in its ground attack capabilities. Namely, the aircraft’s payload capacity has been increased by around 50%. On top of this, the F-15E can’t just carry more ordnance in general, but it also has access to a much wider assortment of suspended weapons options than the dedicated fighter variants.

For instance, the Strike Eagle is able to mount AGM-65 Mavericks, new to the game GPS-aided GBU-39 bombs (up to 20 at a time!), various variants of laser and guided and JDAM bombs in addition to more conventional 250, 500 and 2000 lb bombs, the former of which also come in Snakeye configuration, turning them into retarded bombs. Also available is a new ground targets radar. As a result of this superbly flexible arsenal, the F-15E is sure to become the ideal choice for pilots in both air and combined arms battles at the top ranks.



The F-15E Strike Eagle will soon be making its way to War Thunder in the Firebirds major update, becoming the new ground attacker of choice for seasoned US pilots. That’s all for today’s devblog. Until the next one, make sure to stay tuned to the news for the latest information regarding the upcoming update! Clear skies and happy hunting pilots.

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

The Saab 35 Draken first took to the skies on October 25th 1955 and made history for many reasons. It was the first supersonic combat aircraft built in Western Europe, the first aircraft with double-swept wings, the first aircraft to perform a cobra maneuver, and the first to reach Mach 2 in level flight.

[h2]The J35A Draken is temporarily available at a 50% discount for Golden Eagles![/h2]
This aircraft is available for 4,545 Golden Eagles.

When: From today until October 28th (09:00 GMT).
Where: Sweden > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

About this aircraft

• The J35A is a very fast, durable and maneuverable aircraft, but due to its lack of countermeasures, it has to dodge air-to-air missiles the old fashioned way! It can quickly gain speed and altitude and is armed with 30 mm Akan cannons, as well as missiles and rockets of your choosing.