War Thunder News

Meet the Badger IFV, a South African light tank featuring a 30 mm gun on the Patria chassis, still yet to be delivered to the South African Army.

[h2]Badger IFV: A Light Tank for Great Britain at Rank VI[/h2]
At a glance:

• Fast-firing 30 mm automatic cannon with APFSDS rounds
  
• Patria chassis with a top speed of 100 km/h
  
• Stabilized turret with thermals
  
• 3 crew and light armor
  

Vehicle History With the ageing Ratel IFV still in service, South Africa looked to develop a new, modern IFV to replace it through five variants: Command, Missile, Section, Fire Support, and Mortar. A new initiative named Project Hoefyster (horseshoe) was launched in 2007, with the aim to produce a new vehicle by 2012. The Finnish Patria AMV was selected as the chassis, being modified to fit the SA landscape, and the main contractor, Denel Land Systems was selected to make the turret, gun and build the first vehicles. Following this, 22 pre-production vehicles were built in Finland and shipped over to South Africa. In 2018, the first vehicles with the 30 mm gun were tested at General de Wet training ground.

Originally, 264 vehicles were ordered, however as a result of delays and financial issues, Denel have not provided the South African Army with any production Badger vehicles so far. The South African Government have suggested to cancel the project entirely, and as of 2025 Project Hoefyster has been postponed indefinitely. The Badger IFV for the South African Army still remains in question.



[h2]Introducing the Badger IFV![/h2]

A brand-new top-tier light tank is arriving for Great Britain in the next major update! Meet the Badger IFV, a South African vehicle intended to replace the Ratel in the real world, however its future is still uncertain. Featuring a 30 mm automatic cannon and the Patria chassis, the Badger IFV will be potent in the light tank role. Let’s take a look at what this furry animal is all about!



The Badger IFV has been built and tested through Project Hoefyster, but the South African Army still awaits production vehicles to be delivered after years of delays. Let’s first dive into the Badger IFV’s turret and gun. This turret was designed by Denel and features a 30 mm GI-30 automatic cannon that is capable of firing sabot, APFSDS and HEI rounds. This is all backed up by a laser rangefinder and thermal imagers, making precision shots at longer ranges easier.

Through Project Hoefyster, the Finnish Patria AMV 8x8 was selected as the chassis of choice thanks to its modular design allowing for a range of different turrets to fit with it. This is an excellent chassis that weighs 26 tons and is capable of reaching 100 km/h on roads and rough ground, allowing you to reach strong positions fast. Despite all this however, the Patria chassis is tall and large and may struggle in tight areas, making this vehicle an easy target. Be sure to pick your fights and choose your positions wisely!



Not only is this vehicle large in size, its armor is fairly weak all over. Featuring just 10 mm of armor across the main areas, the Badger IFV can be penetrated by almost anything and won’t survive long under sustained fire due to its crew of 3. Be sure to support your team with this vehicle or hit the flanks hard!



That’s it for this one! Coming in the next major update, the Badger IFV tops off Great Britain’s light tank line and is going to be a devastating vehicle to come up against in the right environment. Check out our website for other dev blogs that we’re cooking!

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

Your collection of screenshots submitted last week looked fantastic! As designs improved through history, many planes, tanks and ships became bigger and more capable than their previous generations. This week, capture a heavy tank, bomber, or a ship from the bluewater fleet! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 172nd edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen172. You have time until the 23rd of May 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 include a heavy tank, bomber, or bluewater fleet vehicle.
You must add the #WTscreen172 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 171st edition – Echoes of History![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3479416181
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3479017220
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3479204204

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3478949628
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3479181776
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3480117103

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

Today we’re announcing the aircraft event, dedicated to an Indian aviation classic. In this event, you can get themed decals, a player profile icon and the very first domestically produced Indian combat aircraft — the HF-24, which was in service from 1967 until the late 80s.

[h3]From May 22nd (11:00 GMT) until June 5th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Air Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards![/h3]

[h2]HF-24 — An Event Vehicle Jet Fighter for Great Britain at Rank V[/h2]
The HAL HF-24 Marut (Hindu for “Spirit of the Tempest”), designed by German aircraft engineer Kurt Tank, was India’s first domestically produced combat aircraft. This jet fighter can accelerate to almost the speed of sound, is armed with four 30 mm ADEN cannons and can carry up to 4,000 lb of bombs and rockets.



Among the rewards in the event is also this chest. When opened, there is a chance to receive one of the following items:

• 50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
  
• Silver Lion and Research Point boosters
  
• Random Wagers and Orders
  
• Universal Backups (1 - 3)
  
• A random camouflage for a vehicle you own
  
• 1 day of Premium Account
  

[h2]How to get all rewards[/h2]
Each stage is unlocked for 35,000 mission points and brings a new reward.

Please note: Once the stage is unlocked, you will need to claim your reward manually. To do this, click on your profile, select the Spirit of the Tempest category, and click Claim Prize.

You’re able to earn mission points in Air Battles at Rank III or above in Arcade, Realistic and Simulator Battles. The number of mission points to complete a stage depends on the game mode and the maximum Rank of the vehicle that you use in battle. There’s a multiplier for earning mission points, which is shown in the task description in-game.

You can also earn mission points by using event vehicles that are Rank I and II. Event vehicles that can be used have the name of the event that they were obtainable in on their stat card.

[h3]Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT: May 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th, June 1st and 3rd. [/h3]

[h2]Rewards are given when you complete a specific number of stages[/h2]

• For 1 Stage: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 2 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 3 Stages: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 4 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 5 Stages: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 6 Stages: “Indian Pilot” profile icon
  
• For 7 Stages: a non-tradable coupon for the HF-24
  

[h3]Discounts on purchasing stages using Golden Eagles[/h3]
Incomplete stages can be purchased for Golden Eagles, but if you’re significantly close to completing a stage, its price will now be significantly reduced.

Let’s say you have earned 85% of the required mission points to complete a stage, then the price of purchasing this stage will be halved. If you’re near the finish line for a stage and are at 95% progress, then the price will be reduced by five times. For example, if you’ve earned 30,000 mission points, then the price for unlocking this stage will be 499 Golden Eagles. If you’ve earned 33,500 mission points, then you’ll only need to pay 199 Golden Eagles. Remember to keep this in mind if you cannot complete a stage on time!

[h3]The Upgrade for coupon [/h3]
When you complete 7 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the HF-24 where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from May 22nd (11:00 GMT ) until June 5th (11:00 GMT) for 600,000 mission points.

After receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” item, you can convert a non-tradable coupon for the vehicle into a tradable one and sell it on the Market. The tradable coupon can be sold after 5 days from the moment it’s created.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until June 8th (11:00 GMT). Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.

To make a tradable coupon, select the “Coupon HF-24 (Great Britain)” in your inventory and click the “Modify” button.

You can track the progress of completing stages and receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” by clicking on your Nickname > Achievements > Spirit of the Tempest. If you don’t manage to complete a stage on time or would like to purchase a stage, until June 9th from the Achievements window, you can purchase each stage with Golden Eagles which will give you the corresponding rewards.

The third Sunday in May marks US Armed Forces Day, a day where people pay tribute to all US personnel. The US accounts for a third of global military spending, and in 2026, the US military budget is expected to reach a trillion dollars.


You can get this new decal for this day!

“US National Armed Forces Day 2025” decal

When: From May 16th (11:00 GMT) until May 19th (11:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using US vehicles at rank III or higher to receive the “US National Armed Forces Day 2025” decal!

Additional details:

• Your activity must not be below 70%.
  
• You can complete the task in random battles, except for Enduring Confrontation missions, [Assault] mode and Helicopter PVE battles.
  
• Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → US Armed Forces Day.
  
• You can find the decal in the holidays tab in the customization menu
  

Today, we’ve rounded up and will be going over some of the bug fixes and improvements that we’ve made to the game today and over the past few weeks. If you’d like to catch up on every fixed bug, then be sure to check out the changelog section on our website.

Feel free to leave your feedback on this update here.

If you’ve found a bug that you’d like to report, you can do so on our community bug reporting platform.

[h2]Trams and Wagon Physics Fixed[/h2]


There was a bug that caused the physical properties of trams and wagons to be out of this world! Instead of moving around on the ground as normal when they were collided with or towed, they began to bounce and fly up and down, almost like a ball in our Tank Football mode. It looked quite funny but this obviously has no place in regular battles. Rejoice, it has now been fixed.

[h2]The Force... Wasn’t With You[/h2]


Another bug caused something very strange to happen. When a helicopter was destroyed or even when an already downed helicopter was shot at and hit, the thermal imager or night vision device of the player who took the shot and got the destruction or hit would turn off. This was super annoying and strange to say the least, and has now been fixed.

[h2]Hydroplane Causing Sight Issues[/h2]


There was a much more serious bug that affected naval vehicles. After launching a hydroplane, ships lost the ability to zoom in at enemies. The zoom would turn on for a split second, and then the camera would jerk to the furthest position, making it more difficult to aim than usual. Thanks to your quick report on this issue, we managed to fix it.

[h2]Vegetation Detailing Fixes[/h2]


It’s known that for optimization purposes, distant objects in games are displayed in less detail, and when approaching them, they’re replaced by full-fledged models. However, we noticed that low-detail vegetation objects begin to appear at much closer distances than they should have. We’ve fixed this now.

[h2]That’s not all[/h2]
Check out the full list of fixes and improvements in the update notes below! Here’s some snippets to pique your interest: the notification about a connected controller is no longer displayed each time you enter the game, an airship icon no longer appears on the bomber action panel, and the RI-65 voice warning system has been added to the Su-25T, Su-39, Su-25BM and the MiG-23 and MiG-27 family of aircraft.


[h3]Recent updates:[/h3]
Update 2.45.1.91
[h3]Today's Update 2.45.1.92:[/h3]

[h2]Aircraft[/h2]

• F-16A, F-16AJ, Netz, Netz (Mod) — RWR model has been changed to the AN/ALR-69.
  Sources: Electronic Warfare by United States General Accounting Office; DOD's Management of Radar Warning Receiver Programs.
  
• A-7E — RWR model has been changed to the AN/ALR-45F(V). (Report).
  
• Mirage 2000C-S5, Mirage 2000C-S4, Mirage 2000-5F, Mirage 4000, Mirage 2000-5Ei (China) — number of TWS targets has been reduced from 12 to 8.
  
• Su-39 — the maximum detection range of surface targets by the Kopyo-25 radar has been increased to 75 km. The scale of the radar screen in GMTI modes has been corrected. (Report).
  
• MiG-23 (all variants), MiG-27 (all variants), Su-25T, Su-39, Su-25BM — RI-65 voice warning system has been added.
  Sources: “ТК выполнения регламентных работ на изделиях 2 и 2М. Часть 1. Самолёт и двигатель. Книга 2. Самолётные системы”; “Самолет МиГ-23БН с двигателем Р29Б-300 вариант А. Краткое техническое описание. Книга 1”; “Комплекс авиационного вооружения самолёта Су-25Т и его боевое применение. Учебное пособие. 1998”.
  
• Buccaneer S.2 — radar has been changed to the ARI.5390.
  Source: AP101B-1202-15A Buccaneer S.2A S.2B Aircrew Manual - Flight Systems.
  
• Buccaneer S.1 — radar has been changed to the ARI.5390.
  Source: AP.4744A-AN Aircrew Notes Buccaneer S. Mk. 1.
  
• T18B — a bug where part of the fuselage behind the bomb bay could disappear or have an incorrect texture has been fixed. (Report)
  
• Kurnass 2000 — a bug where the aiming camera was offset relative to the aiming pod and the pod itself could be seen in it has been fixed.
  
• EC-665 Tiger HAC, EC-665 Tiger HAD, EC-665 Tiger HAP, Tigre HAD-E (Germany) — the position of the 3rd person camera in zoom has been adjusted so that the rocket hit marker (CCIP) is closer to the center of the screen.
  
• Su-22M3 — a bug where the OFAB-250Sh and OFAB-100 bombs under the fuselage clipped each other has been fixed. (Report)
  
• Scout UAV — a bug that caused the view to be blocked by the optics when the camera was rotated backwards has been fixed. (Report)
  
• Su-27SM — the position of the sighting optics has been adjusted so that the aircraft elements do not block the view. (Report).
  
• 13 mm Type 2 machine gun — the stat card lacking the bullet animation for the HE-I has been fixed. (Report).
  
• AIM-7E, AIM-7E-2 (DF), Skyflash, Skyflash (DF), Aspide-1A — the missile diameter has been corrected from 200 mm to 203.2 mm. (Report).
  

[h2]Ground Vehicles[/h2]

• Vickers Mk.3, Vijayanta — M728 shell designation has been changed to its British designation of L52A1. (Report).
  
• M830A1 and M908 120 mm shells — explosive mass has been reduced from 1.38 kg to 0.966 kg.
  Sources: “Direct Fire Ammunition Handbook, Project Manager Maneuver Ammunition Systems, Page 123”; “Armor, May-June 1999, Page 15”.
  
• Starstreak missile — sensitivity of the fuze has been increased to ensure more stable damage to unarmoured targets. (Report).
  

[h2]Naval Vessels[/h2]

• A bug where the secondary gun ammuniton elevators could catch fire when destroyed which then caused the fire to sometimes reach the main caliber magazines causing them to detonate has been fixed.
  

[h2]Locations and Missions[/h2]

• [Domination] Fuego islands (boats) — the max Battle Rating limit available in the mission has been reduced from 4.7 to 4.3.
  

[hr][/hr]
Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.