War Thunder News

Thanks for sharing your captures with us last week! This week, take a picture with a “destroyer”! These often hard-hitting vehicles are great assets when on your team, but if they are not- watch out for loose bombs and sneaky torpedoes! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 135th edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen135. You have time until the 6th of September 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 a “tank destroyer”, “strike aircraft”, or “destroyer” (destroyer escorts included).
You must add the #WTscreen135 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 134th edition – Naval Warfare![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3316575800
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317810848
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3317817886

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3315918681
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3319011381
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3316215969

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

In the upcoming Dance of Dragons major update, closed testing of the French Coastal fleet will begin. And today, we’ll be showing you what awaits its first testers!

As with other naval powers, the development of France’s coastal fleet in the 20th century was driven by the ever-changing demands for coastal defense, control of sea routes, and ensuring the security of national interests. And sometimes, extraordinary solutions were adopted to address these challenges.



With the introduction of France’s coastal fleet tree, the first boats will be agile light motor torpedo ones, including the successful VTB-8, VTB-9, and VTB-11 series. Naval enthusiasts will find the Vedette 40k VTB-19 particularly interesting, as it was a boat that served under three different flags: France, Britain, and Germany, each time equipped with different armaments and equipment. Another intriguing boat is the Arras sub-chaser disguised as a merchant ship, or as the French often called this class, “Aviso”. This relatively slow boat with artillery armament is almost like a mini destroyer! Additional similar boats will be added to the French coastal fleet line in the future.

There’s also several imported boats that testers can look forward to. These are mainly of British origin, such as the MTB Vosper torpedo boat and the iconic transport converted for landing support tasks, the LCG(M), familiar from footage of the Normandy landings. One of France’s top light ships will be the versatile P-730 Combattante, armed with a 40 mm automatic cannon and four SS.11 guided missiles!



Closed testing of the French Coastal fleet will begin on the first day of the major update release. All owners of the VLT-2 pack will immediately gain access to research all of the boats available, as well as receive a unique commemorative decal for participating in the testing. Be sure to pick up the pack yourself, get some crew points and get ready to welcome the new French Coastal fleet tree with well-prepared, seasoned crews! You’ll also be able to get testing access through in-game achievements, which we’ll go through the details a little closer to the release.

[h2]VLT-2 Pack[/h2]
Can be purchased through the store in-game. Shop > Online Store
This pack includes

• VLT-2 (Rank IV, France)
  
• 1000 Golden Eagles
  
• Premium account for 15 days
  
• French Coastal fleet access
  

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

In today’s blog, we’ll be taking a look at the rather interesting P-16, an experimental Swiss attack jet aircraft that has been modeled by War Thunder players!

[h2]P-16: A Premium Strike Aircraft for Germany at Rank VI[/h2]

At a glance:

• Excellent low-speed control!
  
• Light in weight with a variety of ordnance that can fit onto 4 wing hardpoints.
  
• Sidewinder AIM-9B air-to-air missiles.
  
• Model created by a War Thunder player!
  

Vehicle History
[expand]
In 1948, the Swiss Air Force announced a competition to develop a jet fighter capable of performing ground-attack missions and taking off from unpaved airfields. Two Swiss companies took part in the competition: EFW (Eidgenössische Flugzeugwerke Emmen) with a project for four-engine tailless aircraft and FFA (Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke AG) with the more conservative P-16 project. The P-16 was a single-seat, low-wing monoplane with a short wing and a British Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engine; for takeoff from unprepared terrain, the aircraft was equipped with twin landing gear wheels and a brake parachute. The first prototype, P-16-01, took to the air on April 25th 1955. The second prototype exceeded the speed of sound the following year. By 1958, four prototypes had been built, two of which had a more powerful version of the engine and showed acceptable flight characteristics.

In March 1958, the Swiss government, inspired by the test results, ordered 100 P-16 aircraft. However, the third prototype soon crashed due to problems with the hydraulic system. The production order was canceled. FFA made the necessary adjustments to the design and built two more prototypes on its own initiative, but the Swiss Air Force no longer showed interest in them. In the end, the Air Force purchased British Hawker Hunters.
[/expand]

[h2]Pre-order – FFA P-16 Pack[/h2]
Can be purchased through the store in-game. Shop > Online Store
Price: 59.99

• FFA P-16 strike aircraft
• (Rank VI, Germany);
  
• Premium account for 15 days;
  
• 2000 Golden Eagles;
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique "Slashing Pike" title;
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique “Swiss Guard” decal.
  

* - available after the next major update.


[h2]Meet the P-16![/h2]

We’ve got a rare guest to show you in this dev blog: a combat aircraft that comes from Switzerland, the P-16! And today, we’re going to be telling you all about this experimental strike aircraft and its unique features coming to the game in the Dance of Dragons major update, available for pre-order starting today. Let’s take a look!



The P-16 was conceived as an aircraft that could be capable of taking off from unprepared, short airfields in the mountains. Because of this, its designers aimed to make it as compact as possible in size; it features short wings that have a large area and a high-thrust engine. In terms of being able to control the P-16, it’s easy — this is because although it cannot reach the speed of sound, it can get close to it, giving it good control at low speeds. Being great in dogfights, the P-16 is best used turning at extremely low altitudes and speeds, where other jet aircraft would risk stalling and crashing. But thanks to the P-16 working magic, it can stay in the air and maintain control with the flaps down!



Moving onto the weaponry of this Swiss aircraft. The P-16 features AIM-9B air-to-air missiles plus two high velocity HS 825 30 mm cannons located at the center of the fuselage (the same cannons used on the Italian Sagittario 2 and Ariete). Despite only having a total ammunition count of 240, these cannons are capable of taking down enemy aircraft with one or two hits. Let’s take a look at the P-16’s payload for attacking ground targets, which is rather impressive considering the size of this aircraft. On four hardpoints under the wings, the P-16 can carry bombs of various sizes up to 2,000 lb, or even napalm bombs too. This aircraft can also carry a total of 48 R80 SURA rockets, or 44 SNEB rockets that are located in a special retractable launcher under the fuselage. Even when carrying a maximum payload, the P-16 is still capable of effectively attacking ground targets thanks to its excellent control at low altitudes!

This amazing aircraft was created as part of the revenue share program by War Thunder players Vitaly “NovA29R” Vostokov (aircraft model) and Vladimir “Reg25RUS” Stanislavsky (cockpit model). The development team would like to express their gratitude to the Air Force Center in Dübendorf for providing access to the only remaining example of the aircraft, as well as to the members of the Swiss War Thunder community for taking photos of the aircraft and providing other materials that helped in the creation of the model!

That’s today’s blog! The premium P-16 can be purchased starting today as a pre-order pack for the German aircraft tree and will be available in the Dance of Dragons major update. Until then, keep an eye out for other vehicles on the way. Happy battles ahead!

Please note that this vehicle's characteristics may be adjusted before being added to the game.

Today we’ll be looking at the JF-17, a fourth generation jet fighter, jointly developed by Pakistan and China, originally to replace the dated fleets of F-104 and Mirage fighters in the PAF’s fleet.

[h2]JF-17: A Squadron Vehicle Jet Fighter for China at Rank VIII[/h2]

At a glance:

• Excellent flight characteristics: Mach 1.6 capable at higher alts.
  
• Versatile arsenal: guided bombs, air-to-air missiles, regular bombs & rockets.
  
• Modern radar.
  

Vehicle History
[expand]
For a long time, the Pakistan Air Force has been an operator of western fighter jets, such as the American F-104 and French Mirage. In the wake of the Indo-Pakistan War however, the PAF increasingly resorted to adopting Chinese aircraft into service due to western sanctions. Soon after, Pakistani and Chinese engineers began work developing a new fighter on the basis of the J-7, which featured a new engine, side air intakes and improved radar. The project received the name “Saber II”, with Grumman aircraft joining the project later on. However, Pakistan ended up procuring the F-16A which shifted focus away from the project. Nevertheless, Grumman and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation continued work on the project, modifying the original design and renaming the project to “Super-7”. However, Grumman soon pulled out of the project.

In the mid 1990s, work resumed on the Super-7 with Pakistan planning to adopt the aircraft as a support fighter for the F-16. With further design changes following in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the JF-17 as it eventually became known, undertook its maiden flight in August 2003. Following a successful test period, the aircraft officially entered service with the PAF in March 2007, replacing most of the outdated imported aircraft of the previous century. The JF-17 serves with the PAF to this day and has taken part in several military operations since its entry into service.
[/expand]

[h2]Meet the JF-17![/h2]

The JF-17 will soon be joining the top ranks of the Chinese aircraft tree as a new squadron vehicle coming in the Dance of Dragons major War Thunder update. Representing a joint development between Pakistan and China, the JF-17 is developed on the basis of the Chinese J-7 fighter, but incorporates many upgrades and design changes which greatly elevate the aircraft’s combat performance. Let’s dive into the full details!



Designed to complement the F-16A in service with the PAF, the JF-17 is a modern, fourth generation fighter, featuring all the bells and whistles fans of modern combat aircraft expect from this kind of aircraft. For instance, the JF-17 is powered by the extremely powerful Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine, powering the Soviet MiG-29 series of fighters. As a result, the aircraft can reach top speeds of Mach 1.6 at higher altitudes, while also boasting excellent acceleration and maneuverability — features particularly useful in intense dogfights. Complementing the aircraft’s excellent flight characteristics are also a modern radar system as well as radar and missile approach warning systems closely integrated with the aircraft’s countermeasures.



Did you know? “JF-17” stands for “Joint Fighter-17”, signifying the joint development of this aircraft by Pakistan and China.

In terms of the JF-17’s offensive capabilities, this aircraft is equipped with a dual 23 mm universal cannon with 200 rounds of ammunition and features up to seven hardpoints which can outfit with various ordnance options. The choices range from short-range IR PL-5EII missiles over BVR SD-10(A) radar guided missiles to new to the game BRM-1 laser-guided ASMs and a variety of guided bombs, including GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-16, as well as Chinese GB500 and GB250. As for conventional ordnance, there’s Hydra rockets and several types of bombs, including 2,000 lbs. In short, the JF-17 is best equipped for multirole, making it an ideal choice for pilots in both air and combined arms battles at the top ranks.



The JF-17 will soon be making its way to War Thunder as part of the Dance of Dragons major update. You’ll be able to obtain this new top ranking Chinese aircraft either through squadron activity or by purchasing it with Golden Eagles. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned to the news for the latest information regarding the upcoming update!

Please note that this vehicle's characteristics may be adjusted before being added to the game.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The next major update for War Thunder — 'Dance of Dragons'!