War Thunder News

[h2]Join the weekend “Pandora’s Box” special event and get unique titles and a trophy with boosters, universal back-ups or Silver Lions![/h2]

From December 16th (11:00 GMT) until December 19th (08:00 GMT) join the “Pandora’s Box” special event!

The 10,000 and 20,000 victory points in the event will grant you a special title

“Defender of Pandora” and “Conqueror of Pandora” (consequently).

A special trophy “Pandora’s Box” is granted for each 6,000 victory points earned in battles. Each “Pandora’s Box” trophy contains one of the following prizes:

• 50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
  
• 20% - 50% booster for Research Points or Silver Lions
  
• 3-5 universal back-ups for vehicles
  

You can receive a maximum of 5 “Pandora’s Box” trophies in total.
Join the weekend “Pandora’s Box” special event and get unique titles and trophies with boosters, universal back-ups or Silver Lions!

Pandora is a special planet. The Trade corporation sees it as the only source of the “leaven”, a unique material available only there. The Pandorians see their planet as a living creature with the great Sacred Tree as its heart. The battle fleet from the Corporation begins a fire mission in the Floating Isles region to locate and destroy the Sacred tree. This is how they plan to break down the feisty Pandorians. But the locals have obtained the Corporation’s war machines and are ready to ambush the invaders. Pandora's Box is fraught with trouble. Who will reap the danger? It is for you to decide!

Align with the mighty Corporation, or fight to defend the Sacred Tree, controlling unique flying war machines - the Dragonfly strike ornithopters! Join the Pandora’s Box special event in War Thunder!

The Khalid is a modified variant of the well-known British Chieftain main battle tank, developed for service with Jordanian forces in the late 1970s. Coming to War Thunder as part of the next major update, the Khalid will offer tankers an interesting twist on the design of a popular British high tier classic!

Briefly: A special Jordanian modification of the Chieftain MBT, outfitted with a substantially more powerful engine.

[h2]Khalid, main battle tank, Britain, premium, VI rank.[/h2]
Features:

• Uprated engine
  
• Improved mobility
  
• Laser rangefinder
  

In War Thunder, the Khalid will soon join the top ranks of the British ground forces tree as a new rank VI premium vehicle awaiting seasoned tank commanders in the next major update Apex Predators. As a unique modification of the renown Chieftain, the Khalid addresses one of the design’s traditional drawbacks by introducing a vastly more powerful engine to the chassis.

In fact, the Khalid is equipped with the 1,200 horsepower Rolls Royce CV12 diesel engine which nearly doubles the power available to tankers over standard Chieftain variants. If the engine appears familiar to some seasoned British tank commanders, then this is certainly no coincidence as the CV12 is the exact same engine powering the formidable Challenger 1 - the Chieftain’s successor. As a result of this upgrade, the Khalid can not only reach a higher top speed of 56 km/h compared to the original Chieftain, but it can also accelerate far quicker and conquer more difficult terrain types with greater ease. Effectively addressing one the Chieftain’s largest drawbacks, the Khalid elevates the vehicle’s combat capability to a new level, providing its aspiring commanders with a well-balanced performance profile.



However, while the engine upgrade is certainly the most noticeable change tankers will take note of during matches, the Khalid also comes fitted with another, not as striking but no less handy system that can have a significant impact on the outcome of a gunnery duel. Namely, the Khalid features a laser rangefinding system which, unlike the Chieftain’s traditional stereoscopic rangefinder, allows for much faster and more accurate range determination. Therefore, gunners can make the most of the Khalid’s deadly 120mm L11 cannon by being able to quickly acquire and engage targets even at longer distances!

Something prospective commanders of the Khalid ought to bear in mind however, is that the vehicle retains the Chieftain’s general layout as well as protection levels without any major change. As a result, the Khalid inherits the Chieftain’s strong turret armor, enabling it to particularly excel in defensive hull-down positions. At the same time though, this also means that the Khalid possesses the same weaknesses in the form of a thinly protected and rather exposed lower glacis as well as hull sides.



Lastly, it’s also worth mentioning that being a premium vehicle, the Khalid allows tankers to earn more rewards for each action performed in combat - a particularly useful perk for players aspiring to climb the top ranks of the British ground forces tree. In the meantime however, be sure to stay tuned to the news as we continue unveiling more of what the next major War Thunder update has in store for you. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

[h2]Ground vehicles[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed where uninstalled modifications were visible in xray mode in the hangar.
  
• TOW-2B - trajectory clearance over the guidance line has been increased from 1 to 2.25 metres (report)
  
• BR-240SP - the description of the round in the info card has been supplemented with the ballistic cap info (rеport)
  

[h2]Aircraft[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed that caused the sight to shift forward to target when switching from optical sight to turret control.
  
• A bug has been fixed that prevents weapon jettison via the multifunctional menu.
  
• F-4 Phantom (all versions) — an issue with a twitching animation of the opening chute bay in online battles has been solved.
  
• AU-1 - the colour of the pylons has been corrected on the "Miss Penny" camo.
  
• A-4H - a bug has been fixed that prevented 14х250 /50 G.P bomb setup in the weapon editor.
  
• La-5FN, La-7 — a bug has been fixed that prevented armour values on the front cockpit glass and the pilot’s back seat from changing after installing the corresponding modifications.
  

[h2]Naval[/h2]

• The effect of the bow splash has been fixed. The splash may have shown too high, especially at low FPS (report).
  
• T22, 1944 — a bug has been fixed that prevented ammo belt switching on the auxiliary autocannons.
  

[h2]Interface[/h2]

• A bug has been fixed that prevented a picture from the reward window after completing the “Take-off and landing” tutorial mission.
  
• A bug has been fixed where a right click on the vehicle’s icon might display the grouped vehicles while the tech tree window is open
  
• A bug has been fixed that prevented a nation’s icons in the game mode select menu after disabling the Cross-Network Play option on the consoles.
  

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.

Another three outstanding Premium jet fighters that will boost research for any aircraft in their nation, including the freshly announced rank VIII top-tiers!

[h3]In order to purchase pre-order packs you need to open Gaijin Store from the hangar via Steam browser.[/h3]

[h2]McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom II[/h2]
A special version of the legendary American Phantom II fighter, designed to reinforce the air defense forces of the British home islands. This Phantom received the designation F-4J (UK) and became one of the most technologically advanced versions of the famous jet fighter. The first 8 interceptors supplied to the Royal Air Force had tail codes T, I, G, E, R, S, Q, N - after the name of the 74th Tiger Squadron. One of the best aircraft of the West in the RAF livery is now a Premium!



[h2]J-7D[/h2]
Quick to break the sonic barrier, very high roll rate, excellent maneuverability with little energy loss, and decent air-to-air missiles make this member of the J-7 family one of China's best aerial dogfighters. However, the J-7D can also work effectively against ground vehicles! A ballistic computer helps to precisely target every single bomb or anti-tank rocket, while the radar warning system keeps a pilot aware of possible AA therats.



[h2]MiG-23ML[/h2]
An improved version of the formidable MiG-23M Flogger-B, a high-speed multirole jet fighter with a variable sweep wing and a more powerful engine. High altitudes are where the MiG-23ML is at its element, combining speed over Mach 2 with a wide range of air-to-air missiles, including the advanced R-24 series and the all-aspect agile R-60M. When hunting the ground targets, be sure to try the massive S-24B unguided rockets and the heavy-load Kh-23M missiles with manual guidance.

The M728 is a combat engineering vehicle, developed on the basis of the American M60A1 tank by the Chrysler company during the early 1960s. Fans of peculiar American ground vehicles and oversized weapon calibers alike may look forward to the M728 soon making its way to War Thunder as part of the next major update!

Briefly: A heavily modified M60A1 capable of simultaneously reshaping both the landscape as well as hulls of enemy tanks thanks to its high-caliber demolition gun!

[h2]M728, medium tank, USA, premium, rank V[/h2]
Features:

• 165mm demolition cannon
  
• Dozer blade
  
• Premium bonuses
  
• Good protection
  
• Large profile
  

In War Thunder, the M728 will be a very special new vehicle making its way to the higher ranks of the American ground forces tree as part of the next major update Apex Predators. Namely, the M728 will be the first American ground vehicle to feature a 165 mm cannon, thus giving seasoned tankers access to one of the largest caliber weapons available to ground forces along with all the destructive power that comes with it. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg on what the M728 has to offer. Keen to find out more? Then let’s take a closer look at this steel beast!



One of the first things that will strike tankers looking at the M728 for the first time is undoubtedly its gun. Although appearing somewhat modest in comparison to the vehicle’s overall size, the 165 mm M135 cannon certainly doesn’t underdeliver in terms of its destructive potential. Although a novel weapon for American tankers, the M135 cannon is actually a friendly face in disguise. Namely, the cannon represents a modified version of the British L9A1 cannon, found on the Centurion AVRE, already familiar to experienced British tankers. As a result, both weapons share near identical properties and, more importantly, destructive power once tankers become confident with the cannon’s tricky ballistics.



Apart from the substantial upgrade in firepower, the M728 has a lot in common with the standard M60A1 that tankers recognize as being one of the earliest American ground units found at Rank VI. As a result, players familiar with the M60 family of vehicles will know what to expect from the M728: it inherits the family’s good balance between mobility and protection, meaning that the M728 can stand its own in a firefight and also keep up advancing allies without fearing of being left behind. Thanks to its role as an engineering vehicle however, the M728 brings with it a handy gadget: a dozer blade. With it, tankers can quickly fortify their position by digging and thus shielding particularly vulnerable parts of the hull against incoming enemy fire.



Lastly, the M728 is also a premium vehicle meaning that tankers will earn more rewards for each action performed in combat - a particularly useful perk for players aspiring to climb to the top ranks of the American ground forces tree!