War Thunder News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Today we’ll be taking a look at the Stingray, an American-designed light tank that was exported to Thailand.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][p]Vehicle History[/p][p]The Stingray light tank was designed by U.S. company Textron Marine & Land Systems (previously Cadillac Gage) as a private venture in 1983, with the goal to export it to other countries. The tank was revealed in 1984 with Thailand showing interest at the time. 106 Stingray tanks were purchased by the Royal Thai Army in 1987 and have been in service since 1990. Thailand utilized the Stingray in 2011 during conflicts with Cambodia, however it did not see any actual active combat.[/p][p]Despite other countries showing interest and even testing the Stingray on home soil to see how it performed, no further exports for the Stingray occurred. This leaves Thailand as the only operator, where it is still in service with them today. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Introducing the Stingray![/p][p]In the next major update, the Stingray light tank is joining Japan’s rank VI, helping to add in some capability that was previously lacking. The Stingray is also joining the US ground forces tree, since the designer and manufacturer is American company Textron Marine & Land Systems. Let’s dive into the details of this interesting light tank![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Stingray may look oddly familiar, and that’s because it is similar in nature to the British VFM5 light tank, already in the game. It features a similar turret with a fully-stabilized LRF 105 gun that can fire HEATFS, HESH and two APFSDS rounds, all backed up by a laser rangefinder. Supplemented is a 7.62 coaxial machine gun and a .50 cal on the turret roof, allowing you to shoot down trees that get in the way, bushes and low-flying helicopters![/p][p][/p][p]Interesting: The Stingray was tested by a few countries, mainly Malaysia, Ecuador and Chile. However, these countries did not opt to purchase the vehicle, leaving Thailand as the only operator.[/p][p][/p][p]Classed as a light tank, the Stingray can zoom around the map at a max speed of 67 km/h. This allows you to position the Stingray in advantageous positions before the enemy get there, flank and hunker down thanks to the -10 degrees of gun depression.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]There’s four crew members in the Stingray, however they’re not protected by very thick armor. Since the Stingray is a light tank, you shouldn’t be expecting to survive many shots once you’re hit. The armor is at best able to protect against machine gun fire and that’s about it. Bare this in mind and keep your armor hidden where possible![/p][p][/p][p]As mentioned in the first paragraph, the Stingray is coming for both the Japanese ground forces tree as a Thai vehicle and also the USA tree. The Stingray will certainly help Japan, providing some tracked firepower and another vehicle for lineups at and around rank VI. Let’s welcome tanks from Thailand to the game![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]That’s it for this one! The Stingray is coming soon and so are a few more Thai ground vehicles. We’ll be checking another one of them coming soon in a future dev blog, so stay tuned for that. Happy battles ahead![/p][p]Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.[/p][p][/p][p]You can greatly speed up the research of the Stingray in the US tree with this pack:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]The MiG-15 jet fighter was designed by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the second half of the 1940s. The engine was based on the Rolls-Royce Nene, which was located in the tail section of the two-section fuselage. The MiG-15 was accepted into service by the Soviet Air Force on August 23rd, 1949 and was produced in the USSR, China, Poland and Czechoslovakia. In total, more than 17 thousand units of the MiG-15 and its variants were produced![/p][p] [/p][h2]The MiG-15bis ISH has a  30% discount![/h2][p]In honor of this anniversary, the MiG-15bis ISH (rank V) is available at a 30% discount for 5992 Golden Eagles.[/p][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][p]When: From August 22nd (11:00 GMT) until August 25th (11:00 GMT).[/p][p]Where: USSR > Aviation > Premium vehicles.[/p][p] [/p][p]About this jet fighter[/p]

• [p]The MiG-15bis ISH is an experimental strike variant of the MiG-15 with dedicated pylons and a powerful engine, capable of good acceleration and climb rate. The MiG-15bis ISH can take two to six bombs of different sizes, as well as racks with small-caliber S-5 rockets or the large-caliber S-1 rocket.[/p]

[p][/p][p]The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen was named after one of the most outstanding commanders of the 18th century, Eugene of Savoy. Prinz Eugen was launched on August 22nd, 1938 and actively took part in operations during the Second World War. One of its most famous moments was during Operation Cerberus, also known as the Channel Dash, where Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sailed from western France through the English Channel all the way to Germany. Prinz Eugen was one of the few large German ships that remained intact until the end of the war.[/p][p] [/p][h2]Prinz Eugen has a temporary 30% discount![/h2][p]Prinz Eugen (rank IV) is available at a 30% discount for 5614 Golden Eagles.[/p][p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][p]When: From August 22nd (09:00 GMT) until August 25th (09:00 GMT).[/p][p]Where: Germany > Bluewater fleet > Premium vehicles.[/p][p] [/p][p]About this heavy cruiser[/p]

• [p]Prinz Eugen is presented in its final configuration of 1945, featuring a large crew and increased anti-aircraft power. Excellent armor adds survivability to the cruiser, and eight 203 mm main battery guns are ready to meet any enemy![/p]

[p][/p][p]Hey everyone! Today we wanted to go over some changes happening to the British ground forces tree soon.[/p][p][/p][p]After the release of the next major update, some vehicles in the British ground forces tree will be rearranged. These vehicles are marked with a special icon. We’re doing these changes with the aim at improving the structure of the tree, and for the convenience and order when adding various ground vehicles from Great Britain and Commonwealth countries in the future.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]After the changes, the MBT line after the Vickers Mk.1 will focus on Commonwealth tanks and export MBTs. The right line will focus on light wheeled and tracked AFVs, classified in-game as light tanks.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]With these changes, the ranks of the vehicles will remain the same. In addition, as you can see from the screenshot, there will be some changes to grouped vehicles as well.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We’re announcing theses upcoming changes in advance to give you the opportunity to plan your research path in the game at the current time, with the knowledge of how the British ground forces tree will look in the near future![/p]

[p][/p][h3]Aircraft[/h3]

• [p]In Realistic Battles, the limitation on the target angular speed before missile launch or bomb drop has been removed to prevent AGM and guided bomb seekers from losing their tracked targets when the carrying aircraft maneuvers. (Report).[/p]
• [p]JA37 (all variants), AJ37, F-4 Phantom II (all variants), MiG-23 (all variants), Su-24M, MiG-27 (all variants), Su-17 (all variants), Su-22 (all variants), Tornado (all variants), J35 (all variants), F-20A, Rafale C F3, Kfir (all variants) — for ease of maneuvering, the camera in 3rd person view has been moved slightly away.[/p]
• [p]Su-25T, Su-39, Su-25SM3 — the level of IR emissions from the engines has been reduced. Source: НПП Мотор ОДК. “Двигатель для перспективного самолёта штурмовика – турбореактивный двигатель Р-195”.[/p]
• [p]JF-17, Q-5L — a bug that caused an extra thermal mode to be present in the targeting pod which made it necessary to press the thermal button twice to turn it off has been fixed.[/p]
• [p]Su-34 — the wrong requirement to research the “KAB-500LG” modification to unlock the “KAB-1500Kr” modification has been corrected, it now requires the “KAB-500Kr” modification.[/p]
• [p]F-5E (all variants) — now can launch one countermeasure per launch instead of two. (Report).[/p]
• [p]F/A-18C Late — the icon for 2 x GBU-12 bombs has been changed from the erroneously used GNSS bomb icon to the icon of laser-guided bombs. (Report).[/p]
• [p]A bug that caused the inability to drop bombs at altitudes of more than 20 kilometers above sea level has been fixed. (Report).[/p]
• [p]AIM-26B (Flz Lwf LL 64/79 FALCO) — drag coefficient has been increased. Source: AIM-26B Falcon SMC - May 1964.[/p]

[h3]Ground Vehicles[/h3]

• [p]T-64 (all variants) — engine RPM when idling has been increased from 600 to 800 RPM. (Report).[/p]
• [p]Type 99 — the anti-aricraft machine gun is now controlled by the gunner. (Report).[/p]
• [p]Vilkas — gun name has been changed from Mk.44 to Mk.44S. (Report).[/p]
• [p]2S19M1, 2S19M2 — the machine gun ammo has been reduced to 300 rounds (5 boxes with 60 rounds in each). (Report).[/p]

[h3]Other[/h3]

• [p]A bug that caused the camera in the “Pacific war (day)” benchmark to fly through the thick dark clouds has been fixed.[/p]
• [p]Multi-Vehicle SAM TEL vehicles have been removed from the vehicle list for the “Vehicle Collector” profile showcase, as they are not “main” vehicles. (Report).[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p]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.[/p]