War Thunder News

War Thunder Mobile is now in its second year! Featuring realistic vehicles, this game has now reached more than 10 million players. Not tried it yet? Then join us! The game can be downloaded on iOS and Android for free.

In honor of the release of the “Steep Dive” major update in War Thunder Mobile, we’re continuing to do joint-events where you can get vehicles in both games by completing tasks in War Thunder Mobile. This time, the list of rewards has been expanded with an aircraft!

[h2]Rewards in War Thunder[/h2]
All tasks need to be completed in War Thunder Mobile to receive these rewards in War Thunder.

[NEW!] Bf 109 C-1 in a Unique Camouflage

• Research or purchase 4 aircraft in War Thunder Mobile.
  

This variant of the legendary Bf 109 features a more powerful engine and two additional 7.92 mm machine guns in the wings. Double the firepower!

M4 in a Unique Camouflage

• Take 1st place three times in your team in a tank battle.
  

The M4 Sherman is a true classic of medium-tier tank battles. Featuring a 75 mm gun and good armor-piercing shells, the M4 Sherman has good hull and turret protection at the front.

Hatsuzuki in a Unique Camouflage

• Win 3 battles.
  

The Hatsuzuki destroyer (Japanese for “New Moon”) is one of the heaviest ships of this class and is distinguished by its excellent armament of eight 100 mm main guns, numerous 25 mm anti-aircraft guns and 610 mm torpedoes.

Player Icon

• Complete 5 battles.
  

“War Thunder Mobile” Decal

• Complete 10 battles.
  

[h2]Rewards in War Thunder Mobile[/h2]
All tasks need to be completed in War Thunder Mobile.

[NEW!] Bf 109 C-1 in a Unique Camouflage

• Research or purchase 4 aircraft in War Thunder Mobile.
  

M4 Sherman platoon

• Take 1st place three times in your team.
  

M4 Sherman platoon: M4 Sherman, M10 Wolverine, M24 Chaffee, M16 MGMC.

Hatsuzuki

• Win 3 battles.
  

Player Icon

• Complete 5 battles.
  

Nickname Decorator

• Complete 10 battles.
  

War Thunder players can log into War Thunder Mobile with their Gaijin account. War Thunder Mobile players will simply need to link their existing Apple ID, Google Play ID, or Facebook ID to their Gaijin account. If you’re already playing War Thunder Mobile using your Gaijin account, then you’re all set!

The Firebirds major update brings with it an array of improvements to the aviation portion of the game, specifically test flights, airfields, cockpit models and graphical features. In today’s dev blog we’ll be diving in and taking a look at them, so let’s get started!

[h2]Greatly Improved Test Flights![/h2]
Introducing the new Test Flight for aircraft, coming in with a range of improvements. You can now choose the terrain type for the test flight itself, from Western Europe, Eastern Europe Winter, Desert, Mountains, Jungle or Middle East Mediterranean. Previously you were only able to spawn on the airfield, but that has changed! Before going into a test flight, you can now select a spawn point: either on the airfield as normal, or from 500 m to 7 km in the air for planes, and up to 2 km for helicopters, or at an enemy air defense zone to test out your evasive maneuvers. Naval-based aircraft can now also choose between spawning on an aircraft carrier as well.

Airfields themselves have been greatly improved too. There’s new airfield buildings, light indications on the airstrip and even aircraft skid marks at each end of the runway. The test flight itself now has a much more diverse range of targets for you to test out your weapons against, and from different eras. Static and moving ground vehicles, from trucks to tanks, enemy aircraft at different altitudes, bases to bomb, different types of ships, and active air defense systems. When selecting the target rank as “High”, surface-to-air missile capable vehicles will attack you with missiles and ping you with radar.

Original test flight settings are still available, such as gamemode, time of day and weather, unlimited fuel or ammo, configuring gun targeting distance and vertical targeting, fuel amount and ammo belts, secondary weapons and countermeasures.



[h2]Cockpit Models Update[/h2]
We’ve upgraded several cockpit models for some planes and helicopters. For planes this includes the entire line of the Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber including the cannon variants, the Soviet Su-2 attackers and lastly the BB-1. For helicopters, the US and Chinese OH-58D as well as the Italian Agusta A.109EOA-2 cockpit models have been updated.



[h2]RWR Indication and New Screens[/h2]
For fans of jet aircraft and modern helicopters, there’s some really important improvements to the immersion while in first-person cockpit view. The indication of warning systems (RWR) is now displayed in the cockpits exactly as these systems would work in reality on specific models of aircraft. Threat markers and signs of their status (for example locked on, launch, new threat, etc) can differ for the third-person camera and cockpit view. For a full list of onboard RWR models and their functionality in first-person view, take a look at the Firebirds major changelog once it releases!



For those who fly in first-person view, the Firebirds major update will add a radar screen and RWS screen to the JAS39A Gripen, a multi-functional display (MFD) for the Platan optical-electronic system in the Su-34 cockpit, and authentic digital indicators for multi-functional displays, as well as a HUD for the F-15E.



[h2]Air Combat Graphical Effects[/h2]
When taking your aircraft out in air battles in the Firebirds major update, you’ll definitely notice improvements in terms of graphical effects! For example, the afterburner flame effect for jet aircraft and the effect of rocket boosters have been updated. Brand-new LERX Vapor effects on different surfaces of the aircraft’s wings when gaining altitude and performing maneuvers will now appear, as well as new effects when aircraft slide on different surfaces such as concrete, snow and sand.

That’s not all, as the effects of air-to-air missile and anti-aircraft missile explosions in the air have been reworked. After the explosion occurs, in some cases you’ll be able to see how the engine motor of the missile continues to move along the flight path for a brief time.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Osa-AK family of air defense missile systems that will be put into four different in-game nations at once.

[h2]Osa-AK (Germany & Great Britain) and Osa-AKM (USSR & Italy): An SPAA at Rank VII[/h2]
At a glance:

• Can carry six missiles.
  
• Can launch two missiles at one target.
  
• Almost powerless against ground targets.
  
• Amphibious.
  
• No armor to speak of.
  
• Large in size, making it a big target.
  

Vehicle History
[expand]
In 1960, the development program for the autonomous “Osa” air defense system was launched, with several research and production enterprises joining the work. After lengthy development and testing, the first systems entered service in the USSR in only 1971, when there were agreements signed to further develop the Osa. In 1975, the Osa-AK modification appeared with six launch containers and improved search and tracking equipment. Soon after, to increase the effectiveness against helicopters, the Osa-AKM modification appeared with improved missiles and a more advanced radar. The Osa family of air defense systems is still in service with the Russian Armed Forces.
[/expand]



[h2]Meet the Osa-AK and Osa-AKM![/h2]

The workhorse of the army’s air defense systems is coming to War Thunder in the Firebirds major update! The Osa will arrive to four nations at once: the Osa-AKM to the USSR, the Romanian Osa-AKM to Italy, the Osa-AK GDR modification to Germany, and the Indian Osa-AK to Great Britain. Both variants of the vehicle are identical in combat capabilities, but will differ in camouflage and radar antenna model. Let’s take a closer look!



The Osa is a wheeled air defense missile system with six launch containers, each capable of launching the 9M33M3 surface-to-air missile. This missile is quite maneuverable and has a launch range of just over 10 km, with the radar capturing and tracking the target and the gunner guiding the missile to the target through an optical sight. Due to the long operation of the cruise engine, the missile speed is almost constant over most of its trajectory. An interesting feature of the Osa is its ability to launch two missiles at one target — this makes the probability of hitting a target higher, however you’ll have to wait a couple of seconds between missile launches. For low-flying targets, the missile first goes up and then hits the target from above through “top-attack”!

Did you know? “Osa” in English means “Wasp”. Its NATO designation is “Gecko”.



Angled upwards, the SAM launch containers feature missiles that require a lengthy arming distance. Additionally, the missile warhead is fragmentation, which in short means you can try to attack armored vehicles, but only light ones and only at extreme distances. Against tanks and light reconnaissance vehicles nearby, the Osa is powerless, lacks armor, is large in size and the wheeled chassis has low power. Oh and by the way, the Osa is amphibious, paving the way for some interesting tactical opportunities!



The Osa-AK and Osa-AKM vehicles will be available for research in the Firebirds major update — don’t miss the dev blogs we’ve got coming to be the first to know all the news. Have fun in your battles!

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

The Firebirds major update brings with it a host of improvements to several locations and a complete graphics update to the Abandoned Factory ground battles map!

[h3]Abandoned Factory Visual Upgrades[/h3]
Welcome to the updated Abandoned Factory map! One of the most beloved locations amongst players for ground battles has been completely transformed visually. Our artists have replaced all the soil textures with new, clear and authentic ones, and the models and textures of buildings and almost all elements of the environment have been changed. Grass and small vegetation have been updated, making them denser, and bushes have been reduced in size to better match the size of ground vehicles.



Despite being significantly updated in terms of visuals, the performance of this location has not changed much when using the same in-game graphics settings as before.

[h3]Improved Effects[/h3]
On Abandoned Factory and other War Thunder locations, dust clouds from tracks and wheels caused by ground vehicles in hot weather have been improved. When it’s raining, you’ll see realistic puddles and streams of water flowing from the roofs of buildings and the surface of objects. By the way, for Abandoned Factory, we’ve separately worked on the sky effects in cloudy weather, meaning the clouds have become more realistic.



[h3]Push Objects That Were Previously Static[/h3]
The ability to interact with various objects in the game has also been updated. For example, in the new Abandoned Factory and other locations, you can now push carriages on the railroad tracks, giving you the chance to freely make your own passage or to make it difficult for your opponents. When driving into cars and trucks, they’ll be realistically crushed under the tracks of your tank.



[h3]Airfield Overhauls[/h3]
There’s also great news for pilots! We’ve significantly improved all airfields for aircraft in Test Flights and missions for high-ranked aircraft. The runway slabs have been completely reworked, with the textures becoming sharper and the airfield environment improving significantly. There’s new buildings, a reliable light signaling system, and positions of anti-aircraft missile systems for protecting aircraft. There’s even aircraft skid marks! To improve the airfields, we consulted with current pilots and think they’ve turned out pretty well.



That’s it for today! The updated Abandoned Factory location will come to the game in the Firebirds major update. Follow our website for more dev blogs that we’ve got planned, as there’s a lot of interesting things ahead!

On November 6th, 1942, the twin-engine He 219 night fighter took to the skies for the first time. Being the first combat aircraft with ejection seats, it participated in battles during WWII from June 1943 and quickly demonstrated its effectiveness against the British Mosquito. In total, less than 300 He 219’s were produced before production ended in May 1944.

[h2]The He 219 A-7 is temporarily available for Golden Eagles![/h2]
The premium German He 219 A-7 is available for 2,980 Golden Eagles.

When: From today until November 8th (07:00 GMT).
Where: Germany > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

About this aircraft

• The He 219 A-7 is an advanced modification of the He 219 with enhanced DB 603E engines and six cannons, with a total ammunition amount of 1,000 rounds. The MK 103 cannon’s armor-piercing belt can penetration medium and even heavy tanks, while the MK 108 and MG 151 can handle anti-aircraft vehicles. The He 219 A-7 also performs well as an interceptor, thanks to its mentioned powerful forward-firing guns, plus survivability.