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War Thunder News

Update 12.03.2021 (2.5.0.21)

  • Ji-Ro - the position of the sight has been corrected for SB mode.
  • Su-9, Su-11 - textures relating to the tail tearing off have been fixed.
Enduring Confrontation
  • A bug where AI controlled US aircraft models appeared in the USSR missions at ranks VI and VII has been fixed.
  • An aircraft carrier template has been added to “Enduring Confrontation: Tunisia mission (landing and taking off from the carrier, and missions to destroy carriers, are now available).
  • A bug with the ground convoys of team A has been fixed. Previously, they were unable to be detected, and tasks for escorting and destroying convoys were not available.
  • A bug which would cause no indication of the square in which the ground convoy was located, during tasks requiring the destruction of the convoy, has been fixed.
  • A bug which would result in an incorrect calculation of the distance between the ground convoy and the front line, which would subsequently result in convoys travelling further into enemy territory, has been fixed.
  • The paths of aircraft carriers have been corrected, and they should now move straight between the path points, without trying to constantly turn, which should facilitate taking off and landing upon them. This applies to both naval and aircraft Confrontations.
  • A bug relating to aircraft carrier detection has been fixed in naval and aircraft Confrontations. Missions to attack and locate aircraft carriers should be available again.
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.

Meet Major Update “Ixwa Strike”!

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A new line of South African ground forces, the first Variable Swept Wing jet and over 30 new vehicles are joining the game! New location, tactical air-to-surface missiles and a pilot HUD along with new graphical effects, gunfire sounds for aircraft, and much more!

Check out the Changlog here

South African armoured vehicles


Over 20 new ground vehicles includes first South African armoured vehicles added as a separate branch of the British tech tree





Aircraft


F-5A, Mirage IIIE, F8U-2 and more, include first sweep-wings aircraft: Su-17M!



Naval Fleet


5 new vessels, including German SMS "Kaiser"



New Features


New location, tactical air-to-surface missiles and a pilot HUD along with new graphical effects, gunfire sounds for aircraft and more!





Check out the full list of changes

[Development] New features upcoming with the "Ixwa Strike" update



Tactical air-to-surface missiles


Several models of tactical air-to-surface missiles will be added to the weapon presets of both new aircraft and aviation already researched by players. Two of them are really special, let’s take a closer look.

The Soviet Kh-29L is currently the largest guided missile in the game with a mass of 317kg for an armour-piercing high-explosive warhead. The missile was first tested in combat during the war in Afghanistan and has since been used and modernized for the needs of Russian aviation, and also for export. The Kh-29L has a laser homing system, so the launch of a high-precision weapon can be detected by a potential victim - if there are detection devices, of course.

The American AGM-65A Maverick missile, which will also appear in the “Ixwa Strike” update does not have this drawback. The electro-optical tv guidance system, yet unique to the game, will not permit the detection of the missile's targeting, the missile works in “fire and forget” mode. The disadvantage of an electro-optical television seeker is that the missile cannot be guided in poor visibility conditions: at night, in fog, heavy rain, or through clouds.

New hit effects


In our previous updates, we brought you new hit effects for aircraft and large-calibre naval guns. Here comes a global update for hit effects for all weapons in the game - aircraft, armoured, naval - for all calibres from 7 to 205 mm! Changes in the nature of the hit effect are especially visible when shooting at solid surfaces: concrete, metal, asphalt, soil, etc. In general, we have created a unified hit effect system for different types of projectiles of different calibres on different types of surfaces - more than 120 new effects in total! New hit effects will be added to the game in the near future.

Shell impact animations


In the vehicle card, when you hover the cursor over the different types of shells available, you will see a visual animation of the types of impact of the shell on the target. For example, armor-piercing effect causing shrapnel inside a tank or ship, the explosion of a proximity fuse shell to hit an air target, the action of an ATGM shaped-charge jet, and so on. These animated clues will help players to navigate in a huge variety of ammunition for all types of vehicles - land, air, and sea.

Chaff (radar confusing reflectors)




In the “Ixwa Strike” update, another means of radar countermeasures will be introduced in the game - dipole radar confusing reflectors, or ‘chaff’. Dipoles are a simple, cheap, and therefore a very common means of electronic countermeasures. These are small objects (strips of foil, metallized paper or fibreglass) that shoot out like a cloud behind the aircraft as a decoy target to defend against radar-guided missiles. Like the flares, dipole reflectors can “trick” an enemy missile, guiding it off course, initiate the proximity fuse of a chasing missile, or act as a decoy target for enemy radar.

Check out the full article here!

[Development] MARS 15: Light Cavalry



An extremely mobile French experimental light tank, developed during the late 1980s as a replacement to the AMX-13 on the export market/

In War Thunder, the MARS 15 will be a new light tank arriving to the top ranks of the French ground forces tree with the release of the next major update. Offering its prospective commanders excellent mobility and firepower - both defining characteristics of a light tank - the MARS 15 won’t just expand the French light tank lineup but will also give seasoned French tank commanders access to a highly potent new high tier skirmisher!

The MARS 15 comes equipped with a 90 mm CN 90 F4 cannon as its main armament. Despite appearing slightly underwhelming in comparison to most other tanks at its rank equipped with 100/105 mm cannons, the MARS 15 more than makes up for its cannon’s smaller caliber by possessing excellent ballistic properties and access to both powerful kinetic as well as chemical rounds. As a result, the MARS 15 is more than capable of holding its own on the battlefield and even more so should one find itself unchallenged on your team’s flank!





The MARS 15 arrives to the top ranks of the French ground forces tree as part of the next major update “Ixwa Strike” to War Thunder and will become available for research to all players upon release of the update. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned to the news in order to find out what other exciting new features the next major update has in store for you. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

[Development] F8U-2 Crusader: The Last of the Gunfighters



The F8U-2 Crusader is the best carrier-based gunfighter in the game and true legend of the US Navy.

In our game, the F8U-2 Crusader multipurpose fighter will become the top US carrier-based fighter with the “Ixwa Strike” update release, and the most advanced gunfighter of the navy in the game. In addition to its excellent fighting qualities, the F8U-2 has an interesting variable-incidence wing mechanics, which simplifies takeoff and landing. The main task of the Crusader is to patrol the airspace over the aircraft carrier group, intercept and destroy enemy air targets.





An extremely unusual aircraft and a true legend of US carrier-based aviation will be waiting for you in the hangars of the War Thunder update “Ixwa Strike”.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!