War Thunder News

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The Warbond Shop for the “Tropical Storm” Battle Pass season will start on October 25th and will finish on January 24th.

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We’d like to present an assortment of goods that will be available for Warbonds that are earned in the Battle Pass! As usual, we have decals, decorations, camouflages, a new stylish pinup, and six premium vehicles!

Pay special attention to the Swedish Sherman III/IV tank — this steel monster boasts impressive armor for its rank, making it able to hold off plenty of attacks and lead the offensive against enemy capture points!

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The Warbond shop is available to players that have vehicles of rank III and up and is part of the Battle Pass. You can purchase items with the special ‘Warbond’ currency that can be obtained by unlocking Battle Pass levels.

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Open “Shop” → “Warbond shop” to see an assortment where some of the more interesting items can be seen.



[h2]MGB-75[/h2]

Coming in as a British Coastal Fleet boat of rank II, the MGB-75 boasts a powerful 40 mm automatic cannon, 2 20 mm Oerlikon cannons and Lewis machine guns. A formidable boat to be reckoned with!

[h2]H-81A-2 [/h2]

The H-81A-2 is an export variant of the American P-40 for China at rank II. Possessing good speed and able to maneuver well, the H-81A-2 has 2 .12.7 mm guns and 4 machine guns, plus the ability to carry a 500 lb bomb.

[h2]Pz.III N[/h2]

The Pz.III N is a German rank II tank coming in as an all-rounder: good mobility, good armor, and fast reloading of multiple types of shells. The Pz.III N makes for a great medium tank overall.

[h2]USS Frank Knox — first time in the Warbond shop[/h2]

An American rank III Destroyer with decent armor, strong air defense capabilities and powerful and fast-firing cannons! The USS Frank Knox is great for fast and aggressive gameplay. Plus, it’s the first time being in the warbond shop.

[h2]P-47D-27 (USSR)[/h2]

The American P-47D-27, in service with the USSR! This Soviet “Jug” has a rather large ammo capacity and 8 12.7 mm guns and a great combination of FAB 500 and 250 bombs. An overall powerful aircraft in multiple roles!

[h2]Sherman III/IV — first time in the Warbond shop[/h2]

An absolute classic of a tank, the Sherman in Swedish service. Coming in at rank III, the Sherman III/IV possesses a vertical gun stabilzer and a good selection of shells to fire. An overall fun tank to play. Plus, it’s the first time being in the warbond shop.


[h2]“Capricorn Zodiac” pinup[/h2]

For this Battle pass Warbond shop, we’ve got decals that are represented in the trophy for decals from the 2018 Warbond shop, as well as the new “Capricorn Zodiac” pinup, which continues the series of themed decals! In addition to this, the camouflage trophy will provide you with decorations, and will surely amuse car enthusiasts. Player profile icons are also here in a trophy and this time include Soviet tankers, plus trophies that contain random camouflages as usual become available as new store levels are unlocked.

A large number of usable items are also available in the store: boosters, universal backups, wagers and orders, test drives of premium vehicles — even talismans are obtainable at the highest levels of the shop!

Check out the full assortment of available Warbond items for the current Battle Pass season and the terms for purchasing them in the game by opening the Battle Pass window or “Shop -> Warbond Shop”!

As we mentioned in the TAN-SAM-1C dev blog, we’d like to talk about photocontrast mode! This means today we’ll be talking in detail about some of the upcoming improvements to IR missile functionality in War Thunder and what this means for IR missile gameplay.

[h2]The technical background of IR seekers[/h2]
Infrared homing heads are widely used on air-to-air missiles and ground based anti-aircraft missiles. They combine the benefits of using effective missile guidance trajectories, are also cheap and do not irradiate the target with any radiation. On the surface, making the heat source of your enemy the main target for a missile has some key advantages. On the flipside however, it does have some downsides that can be found within the main principle of how a target’s thermal radiation is captured, as the target must emit infrared waves for this to work. The higher the intensity of the radiation, the better. The range at which target lock on and tracking actually works greatly depends on this. In addition to this, a missile going for a heat source can be easily deceived by false sources of infrared radiation, such as flares.



Slower aircraft that have piston and turboprop engines emit a small amount of heat and the radiation from a jet engine is almost invisible from the frontal aspect in many cases. An infrared homing seeker head can detect a target like this at fairly modest distances. The same IR seeker of a MANPADS can capture a small helicopter from a distance of only 2-3 kilometers at most. However at this distance, you’re prone to being shot at quite easily, even by unguided aircraft rockets. Anti-aircraft missiles with an infrared seeker in those particular conditions can often hit a target as it exits from its attack run. However in this case, it relies on someone being there to launch them at this very moment.



[h2]The use of photocontrast mode [/h2]
These shortcomings with the use of IR seekers as part of military air defense were especially relevant in the 1960s, when the development of IR seekers did not yet make it possible to confidently isolate a useful thermal signal from a target in the forward hemisphere. This is when the idea of using the visible wavelength range for target tracking came about. The Strela-1 was one of the first air defense systems to use a photocontrast homing head for targeting. This made it possible to capture and engage targets on opposing courses and ensure the protection of troops even before the target launched an attack. A photocontrast channel also has its own drawbacks to consider. The target can only be engaged during the day and in clear weather conditions, and the background behind the target must be uniform.



The use of combined dual and triple-band homing heads helps to smoothen out the shortcomings and makes a missile defense system function in all-weather and in day and night conditions. In difficult weather conditions, against low-flying targets and at night, guidance in infrared mode is used, and when launching from a long distance and against weakly emitting targets, photocontrast mode is used. It is also recommended to use photocontrast mode against targets on a collision course when they use countermeasures, to which the photocontrast channel is less sensitive compared to the infrared one. A dual-band seeker of this kind is equipped on the 9M37M missile system of the Strela-10M2, which is already present within the game. The use of an IR channel made this missile all-weather compatible, whilst the photocontrast channel provides the ability to capture a target and fire at it from long ranges, even exceeding the maximum flight range of the missile.

[h2]Photocontrast mode in War Thunder[/h2]
Within War Thunder, the photocontrast channel will be present on missiles that are a successor to the Strela-1 system. Namely the 9M37M missiles of the Strela-10M2 SAM, as well as on the Japanese Type 93 SAM. With the release of the “Kings of Battle” major update, the Type 81C SAM will also benefit from this improvement. In game, you’ll have the ability to switch between three modes: photocontrast, infrared and automatic, which is enabled by default. In automatic mode, the seeker will perform a lock on in the most appropriate mode. However, you must take into account that after launch, it will not be possible to switch between modes. If the target was locked on in photocontrast mode, but evaded by going lower to the ground, then target tracking will fail and the missile will miss its mark.



You can look forward to these improvements and many others in the upcoming major update “Kings of Battle”! Until then, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

The J35A Draken was the first supersonic jet aircraft to enter service in Western Europe. Taking to the skies on October 25th 1955, the J35 was in service between 1960 to 2005, however it did not participate in any real combat.

[h2]The J35A Draken is available for Golden Eagles![/h2]

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When: From October 25th (10:00 GMT) until October 27th (07:00 GMT).
Where: Sweden > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

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[h3]About the aircraft[/h3]

• The J35A Draken boasts amazing maneuverability, and has no rivals in this area! Being able to reach a high top speed very quickly, the J35A can gain altitude easily as well. This aircraft is also equipped with a radar and can carry 4 x RB24 air-to-air missiles, as well as 12 x m/56D rockets, allowing you to use it in air and ground battles!
  

In the “Kings of Battle” major update, we’ll be introducing a new location for ground battles: Flanders! This location is special — it’ll be the first in the game where the landscape adapts to the era of vehicles that are participating in the battle. Let’s dive into the details!

[h2]Meet Flanders![/h2]



Flanders is a brand new location for ground battles, which is set in the beautiful landscapes of coastal France on the border with Belgium. Amongst the tulip fields, windmills and against the backdrop of an old town, a wide line of defense is in place, bristled with barbed wire and a complex set of trenches and fortifications. The southern part of the map has many artillery bomb craters — where the southern team begins their offensive. The northern team is located on the outskirts of an urban area, and in the center of the map, an armored train is stuck on the tracks in a destroyed train station.



[h2]Flanders adapts to the era of vehicles[/h2]

The highlight of Flanders is its adaptive environment, which changes depending on the rank of the battle. If you’re using classics of the mid-20th century, horse-drawn carriages are located throughout the streets of the town, and among the trenches lies the wreckage of a fallen airship. In battles with more modern vehicles, you’ll see towns that have turned into cozy tourist centers, and the fallen airship replaced with a crashed modern transport aircraft.

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In your matches: Pro-tips when playing on Flanders by Evgeniy Yakovlev, Flanders Map Designer: “The best tactic for the southern team would be to occupy the high ground near the railroad tracks. When on the northern team, try to occupy the trenches, and use them to hide from crossfire, engaging the enemy team on the approaches to the capture points. Make sure to move along the main roads to reach capture points as safely as possible, and use the small bridge arches to not risk crossing the railway track in your tank!”

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Flanders will be part of the map rotation for ground battles with the release of the “Kings of Battle” major update. Share your thoughts about this location itself with its new concept of an adaptive environment, as we’ll be reading your feedback on it. Until then, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

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We’re inviting you to celebrate War Thunder’s 11th Anniversary with a whole series of Esport tournaments! Our best modern aircraft pilots and seasoned tankers will come together to show their skills and compete live for your entertainment.

[h2]TWITCH DROP LIVE STREAMS[/h2]

During the 4 weekends of the Anniversary Tournament, you'll be able to obtain a whole variety of our new Esport items.

FOLLOW

[h2]Air Superiority 4v4 Campaign[/h2]
October 28-29, November 4-5 from 15:15 until 22:00 UTC



Viewers of the Air Superiority tournament can receive:

• F-16C “Golden Sun”
  
• Barak II “Lightning Storm”
  
• Yak-141 “Bumblebee”
  
• “Esport Megaphone” decoration.
  

[h2]WT11 Fire-Front 5v5 Campaign[/h2]
November 11-12, 18-19 15:15 until 22:00 UTC



Viewers of the Fire-Front 5v5 tournament can receive:

• Tornado IDS ASSTA1 “Fliegonodrom”
  
• MiG-29SMT “Quick Response”
  
• F-16AJ “Hanagasumi”
  
• AH-64D “Fire Starter”
  

Watch these tournaments and receive Twitch Drops exclusively on the English, German, French or Russian Official War Thunder Esport Channels!

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Authorize on Twitch → link your Gaijin account → press “Allow” to receive Twitch Drops!

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To stay up to date with all of the War Thunder Esports news and events, join our Discord community! Starting from today, we’re giving away the following War Thunder Premium Bundles there:

• Su-39-Pack
  
• K9-VIDAR-Pack
  
• F-4S Phantom II Pack
  
• M1 KVT Pack
  
• Kfir Canard Pack
  

[h2]ANNIVERSARY TOURNAMENTS[/h2]

If you think you’re skilled enough to compete with elite War Thunder players, you can try your best by applying for the tournaments here!

See and apply for tournaments

We have 9 celebratory tournaments for you to take part in. The prize fund is over 300,000 Golden Eagles, a variety of bundles and vehicle coupons, including the legendary E100, Esport camouflages, decals and unique titles.

• How to participate in the TSS tournaments?

“War Thunder 11th Anniversary — Esport” decal

M24 Chaffee "Fliegonodrom" Camouflage

P-51 Mustang "Fliegonodrom" Camouflage