The export version of the venerable Italian wheeled tank destroyer designed for Spanish land forces, coupled with an unique decoration and Premium bonuses hits the shelves of our online store as a special pre-order pack!


Features:

• Max speed 110 km/h
  
• Deadly armor-piercing rounds
  
• Thermal imager
  
• Light armor

The VRCC Centauro is a Spanish variant of the legendary wheeled tank destroyer that will come to War Thunder with the next major update. And now you may pre-order the best Premium vehicle in the Italian ground vehicles tech tree and get special bonuses of the pre-order pack!

Incredibly fast and armed with an excellent laser-sharp 105mm gun, the Centauro is one of the most popular vehicles for high-rank tank battles. The new premium VRCC Centauro, built on the basis of earlier versions of this combat vehicle, is distinguished by a different armor scheme of the hull’s front (alas, the protection has not increased though) and later smoke grenade launchers. Most importantly, commanders will have access to excellent DM33 armor piercing fin-stabilized rounds able to overcome 400 mm of the armor - and these shells, like other modifications, are available immediately from the get go!

In the game, the vehicle is decorated with the insignia of the Spanish 8th Light Cavalry Regiment “Lusitania”. Together with the VRCC Centauro, Premium Account time and a good supply of Golden Eagles, the owners of the pre-order pack also receive an unique decorator - a shortened version of the Spanish assault rifle.

Pre-order bonus: unique "Automatic rifle (Italy)" decoration:



Pre-order bonus: "Knight-errant" decal:

The HJ-9 is a Chinese wheeled ATGM carrier which entered service with the PLA in the late 1990s as a platform for a newly developed anti-tank missile. Coming to War Thunder as part of the next major update, the HJ-9 will soon reinforce the top ranks of the Chinese ground forces tree with a highly capable new tank hunter!

Briefly: A late 1990s Chinese wheeled missile carrier, equipped with the powerful ATGMs.


Features:

• Superb mobility
  
• Powerful missiles
  
• Thermal vision
  
• Retractable launcher
  
• Light armor

In War Thunder, the HJ-9 will be a new wheeled tank destroyer awaiting tankers at rank VI of the Chinese ground forces tree following the release of the next major update. Combining excellent mobility with potent ATGMs, the HJ-9 will give Chinese tankers access to a deadly new tank hunter unlike anything previously available in their tree!

Immediately upon obtaining the HJ-9, the vehicle offers its prospective commanders a four-barreled retractable ATGM launcher, firing powerful ATGMs of the same designation. Possessing a tandem warhead and a range of 5 km allows tankers to reliably knock out even more advanced combat vehicles, outfitted with reactive armor, and at a considerable distance at that! Furthermore, thanks to the presence of thermal imaging, this process is made even easier, regardless of light or weather conditions.



Being based on a shortened version of the Chinese ZSL92 APC, the HJ-9 features excellent mobility, typical for most wheeled vehicles regardless of rank. Specifically, the HJ-9 can reach an excellent top speed of 95 km/h on paved roads thanks to its 290 horsepower diesel engine. On the other hand, the vehicle’s comparably low combat weight and the resulting high power-to-weight ratio enable it to cross even rougher terrain with relative ease - just be wary of boggy areas and deep snow as these considerably hamper the mobility of wheeled vehicles in general.





In most cases, wheeled vehicles don’t feature heavy duty protection so as to not hamper their mobility. This principle also applies to the HJ-9. Engineers only equipped the HJ-9 with steel armor up to 12 mm in thickness as well as bulletproof glass for the windows. Needless to say, this makes the HJ-9 highly susceptible to everything but small arms fire and shrapnel. Aircraft in particular may prioritize the HJ-9 over other targets due to its poor protection and lack of a defensive roof-mounted machine gun. As a result, commanders are best advised to make the most use out of the HJ-9’s excellent mobility and constantly change position after each engagement to ensure they remain an elusive target on the battlefield.





The HJ-9 will soon be arriving to the top ranks of the Chinese ground forces tree as part of the next major War Thunder update. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to our news as we continue unveiling what other exciting new additions and features await you in the upcoming update. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

In this digest we would like to tell you about our continuing work on improvements and fixes in the game. You can find information about all updates that have been released in War Thunder in the website special section.





We’ve recently added to the game an ammo indicator for machine guns that shows how much ammo is left in the magazine, as well as displaying the reload progress. Turns out, the latter had a bug: after the final belt was depleted, a partial reload animation was displayed on the bar — when in reality there was, of course, no reload happening. The error has been identified and fixed: now the indicator of an empty machine gun won’t display any distracting animations.





The scan zones of airborne interception radars in TWS mode used to lean to the side while tracking targets, forcing the players to manually re-centre them. And that’s not something you’d want to do mid-flight! So we’ve taken your comments to heart, and now upon exiting the TWS mode the centre of the radar’s scan zone will return to its initial position.

Similar issues were identified with guided bombs: the crosshair kept moving away from the center. It won’t be doing that anymore.





In arcade game modes aircraft were dropping bombs from pylons asymmetrically: first they emptied one wing, and then another. When in reality it should be different: the bombs should drop from pylons alternately. So, we’ve returned this much needed symmetry.



We are always continuing to work on improving War Thunder. The radar now properly captures targets when the aircraft is rolling, several guns’ stats have been adjusted, and the amount of Silver Lions and Golden Eagles that you have is now correctly displayed after you’ve made a purchase.


For this digest we have prepared a large set of useful fixes and game improvements. Be sure to read the full list below - there are many interesting things.

Once again, many thanks for all your bug reports that you submitted using our special service.

• BMD-4 — the value of the hull side armor has been corrected in the info card.
  
• Type 93 — speed of the Type 91 missile has been corected in the info card (report).
  
• M48 Super — underestimated targeting speed of the AA machine gun has been fixed (report).
  
• SMK — inoperable machine gun of the radio operator has been removed from the x-ray view.
  
• Conway — a bug has been fixed due to which tracks were repaired before the track sprocket (report).
  
• 100mm BR-412, BR-412B, BR-412D rounds — incorrectly presented overpressure damage has been revoked.
  
• 25mm PGU-25/U round — muzzle velocity has been increased from 1065 to 1085 m/sec, the tracer has been removed.
  
• 25mm PGU-20/U round — incorrect tracer element has been removed.
  
• T-72A, Т-72AV (TURMS-T), Т-72B, Т-72B (1989), Т-72B3 — ammo belt capacity of the 12,7mm machine gun has been corrected from 150 to 60 rounds.
  
• Т-80B, Т-80BVM, Т-80U — ammo belt capacity of the 12,7mm machine gun has been corrected from 150 to 100 rounds.
  
• Т-80U — ammo belt capacity of the 12,7mm gun has been corrected from 300 to 500 rounds.

• A bug has been fixed due to which bombs were released asymmetricaly in Arcade battles - first from one wing, then from another.
  
• A bug has been fixed due to which a canceling of a lock on target of guided bombs did not reset the crosshair.
  
• The shifting down of the guided bomb sight while target acquisition is enabled has been fixed for the gamepads.
  
• SNEB Type 23 rockets — armor piercing value of the shaped charge has been fixed from 300mm to 400mm.
  
• DEFA 553 gun— weight has been corrected from 150 to 81 kg.
  
• SB2U (all versions) — incorrect display of objects i through the sight has been fixed
  
• Radar scan zone centre that tracks the selected target in TWS mode now returns to initial position after exit from TWS mode.
  
• Target acquisition from radar search mode is now possible even if the owning aircraft roll is high.
  
• Bombs and rocket salvo launch with weapon selector now works in the same way for both aircraft with and without payload editor. Available salvo sizes (2, 4, 8, 16) depend on number of bombs and rockets avaialble. It doesn’t depend on number of bomb and rocket launchers.
  
• On aircraft with payload editor weapon release sides are interleaved: left-right.

• Leningrad — Guidance angles of the fourth main calibre turret have been corrected to avoid collisions with anti-aircraft guns when firing.
  
• HMS Hawkins — Guidance angle of the main calibre turret has been reduced according to installation limitations from 30 to 19 degrees.

• A bug which caused the amount of SL and GE in the hangar in the player card to not be updated after purchase of an item in the store has been fixed.
  
• A bug where after the last machine gun belt was expended, the ammo indicator showed the refill animation has been fixed (report).
  
• Links to the market for traded items from the “Summer Cocktail” trophy have been added.
  
• Tags can now be used in the item search text box. For example, searching for "Danger Zone" will now display only the corresponding trophy, key and decal, but also all camouflages of the trophy, since they have the "Camouflage trophy: "Danger Zone" tag.

• Incorrect displaying of waves in naval battles and replays when the camera was placed low or at a certain distance has been fixed.

• [PlayStation] A bug due to which decals haven’t loaded in the vehicle appearance menu after the ground AB game session has been fixed.

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.

Light cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov is the last Soviet ship wielding big guns. The ship comes to the game as part of the upcoming War Thunder update in her latest upgraded version, featuring fast-firing anti-missile guns.


Features:

• High muzzle velocity of the main caliber rounds
  
• Improved short range AA artillery
  
• Ballistic deck
  
• Insufficient firepower to counter heavy ships
  
• Lacks of torpedoes

The most famous Project 68 cruiser Mikhail Kutuzov comes to the game as a part of the upcoming major update, and the ship will be presented in the version after the last upgrade. Together with the premium Zheleznyakov and the researchable Sverdlov, the new ship will become the best light cruiser in the entire research tree of the Soviet bluewater fleet.

Project 68 ships are well known to seasoned captains: decent firepower, excellent air defense and good mobility. Mikhail Kutuzov is a little different from her sisterships. Let’s see the ship in details!



A large modernization program initiated in 1970 aimed for a further improvement of the air defense of Soviet cruisers. 8 paired AK-230 mounts with rapid-fire 30mm guns appeared on the platforms around the bow superstructure, which supplemented the 37mm auto cannons familiar to you from Sverdlov and Zheleznyakov. The new guns, although somewhat inferior in caliber, are remotely controlled and provide an amazing density of fire at short and medium fire distances - each barrel spits 1,000 rounds per minute! The universal 100mm guns remain effective as before: their high-explosive fragmentation rounds do a good job of destroying light ships and boats, and their radio-fuzed shells are ideal for destroying aircraft at considerable distances.





The crew of the cruiser has somewhat decreased - 1057 men against 1270 on the Sverdlov, which in the game realities can be attributed to the ship’s cons. During the modernization, torpedo tubes were also dismantled - another thing to missing from her sisters. But everything else, for which we love the Project 68 ships, is still here! The main battery of 12 152mm guns in four turrets works perfectly both against destroyers and other cruisers. The shells lack the destructive power to effectively damage battlecruisers and battleships, but thanks to the high muzzle velocity of shells and smoother ballistics, it is very easy to fire at longer distances at softer targets. Mikhail Kutuzov, like other Project 68 cruisers, has a special ballistic deck that increases the ship's survivability against cruiser-caliber shells.





Mikhail Kutuzov, perhaps the best light cruiser in the USSR fleet research tree, will be waiting for you in the next major update. Visit our Developer Diaries more often to know more about cool new stuff planned for the upcoming update! See you soon!

• A bug has been fixed that caused the unguided rockets to do increased damage to the bombing targets (bases) in aircraft battles.
  
• The authenticity tags system has been reworked on the Marketplace to allow for combined search with this filter. For example, it’s now possible to search for both Historical and Semihistorical camouflages simultaneously by choosing both options in the filter.
  
• Tags can now be used in the item search text box. For example, searching for "Danger Zone" will now display only the corresponding trophy, key and decal, but also all camouflages of the trophy, since they have the "Camouflage trophy: "Danger Zone" tag.

We enjoyed seeing all of the great screenshots last week! It was awesome to see many of the common and not-so-common vehicles with their giant cannons! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!


Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen29. You have time until 26.08.2022 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.

Important addition: Screenshot theme - Shades of Green!

• This week, the screenshots are all about color. There are so many sources of green in War Thunder. There are many green vehicles such as the Ju 87, PT-200, and T-34 that all come in lovely shades of green.
  
• Don’t own any green vehicles? Never fret! There is abundant green scenery on many of the battlefields!
  
• You must add the #WTscreen29 tag.
  
• 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 7 working days.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848282984
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848563171
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848370696

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848774814
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848304391
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2848607369

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

The VK 30.02 (M) is the prototype design of what would eventually become the legendary PzKpfw V ‘Panther’ tank. In the next major War Thunder update, fans of German military vehicles will have the chance to add the earliest iteration of the Panther tank to their collection and take this prototype out into actual battle!

Briefly: The experimental version of the renown German Panther tank, featuring improved mobility over production models at the expense of thinner armor.


Features:

• Hard-hitting 75mm cannon
  
• Superb mobility
  
• Less well-protected compared to later production models
  
• Low turret traverse speed
  
• Slow reverse speed

In War Thunder, the VK 30.02 (M) will be a new addition complementing the impressive array of German experimental vehicles found in the game. Representing the early design stage of the already familiar Panther, the VK 30.02 (M) completes the famous medium tank’s design history in the game by joining the ranks of the German ground forces tree as part of the next major update!

Despite sharing many similarities with the subsequent first production model - the venerable Panther Ausf. D - the VK 30.02 (M) does possess several notable differences which make it stand out from later production variants of the Panther. For instance, while the vehicle’s firepower, overall design and layout would be carried over to production versions virtually unchanged, its protection and consequently its mobility too were subjected to some changes.



Namely, the original design of the Panther tank received 60mm thick armor plates on the front of the hull while the turret’s front armor goes up to 80mm. As this was marked as a deficiency during testing, later production models received 80mm and 100m mm thick plating, respectively. For prospective commanders of the VK 30.02 (M) however, this means that their vehicle is somewhat less well protected against incoming enemy anti-tank fire. On the other hand, the armor’s sloping still improves its protective capabilities, thus remaining highly effective against smaller caliber weapons, for example.





As a result of the VK 30.02 (M)’s lighter protection, it should come to no surprise to tankers that the vehicle’s mass is also much lower in comparison to later production variants. Therefore, tankers will be able to quickly get up to top speed and traverse more demanding terrain types with greater ease. Just remember: the vehicle’s reverse gear remains unchanged from production models, resulting in a poor reverse speed of just 5 km/h!





Be sure to add the unique VK 30.02 (M) to your in-game collection once it arrives in War Thunder as part of the next major update. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned and follow the news as we continue unveiling more of what the upcoming update has in store for you. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

The Pbv 302 is a Swedish APC, developed in the mid 1960s as a replacement to the outdated Pbv 301. Soon, tankers in War Thunder will have the chance to take command of an experimental anti-tank version of this widely produced APC as it makes its way to the game as part of the next major update!

Briefly: An experimental version of a widely used Swedish APC converted into a tank hunter thanks to the installation of an ATGM launcher.


Features:

• Powerful ATGM launcher
  
• 20mm autocannon
  
• Amphibious
  
• Light protection

In War Thunder, the Pbv 302 BILL will be a new light tank making its way to the top ranks of the Swedish ground forces tree with the release of the next major update. Small, nimble and packing a deadly punch is how the Pbv 302 BILL is best described and today’s devblog is here to share all the details about this unique Swedish ground vehicle, arriving soon to tankers’ hangars.



So let’s begin with the Pbv 302’s weapons. Like many Cold War-era light vehicles, the Pbv 302 comes fitted with a single 20 mm Akan m/47D cannon as standard. Featuring a high rate of fire and good ballistic properties, the cannon provides an excellent solution to countering other light hostile vehicles or even low-flying aircraft and helicopters. However, tankers are best advised to not attack more heavily armored opponents head-on, at least not with the autocannon.






For this job, the Pbv 302 BILL has a special tool available: namely, the Rbs 56 ATGM launcher, already familiar to some seasoned War Thunder tankers. Being the same missile launcher found on the Strf 9040, the Rbs 56 is not your typical anti-tank missile. Instead, the Rbs 56 is a top-attack missile, meaning it detonates above the target, thus causing the penetration to occur at the usually least armored parts of a combat vehicle. This trait also allows the missile to be fired on vehicles hiding behind cover or terrain since the missile can easily fly over these and still inflict damage to the enemy.

Being a light vehicle means that the Pbv 302 BILL doesn’t feature any notable form of protection. Its 20-25 mm of frontal armor plating ensures adequate protection against machine gun fire and shrapnel, but won’t be effective enough to stop high-powered autocannons and anti-tank munitions. On the other hand, the light protection also results in a rather low weight of just 14 tons.





The Pbv 302 BILL will soon be making its way to the top ranks of the Swedish ground forces tree and will become available to all tankers as a new high tier light tank. In the meantime, be sure to keep a close watch on our news as we continue unveiling other exciting new additions and features awaiting you in the next major update. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

We’re pleased to present to you a new set of rare decals for your vehicles! As usual, the decals are quite varied in styles and themes: we’ve got stylish graffiti in Hebrew, a weird Canadian palm tree, and among the typical animal-themed emblems we have not only got a menacing realistic tiger, but also a seahorse and a cute Spanish parrot. There’s something for everyone, whether you prefer ships, tanks, or aircraft!

Earn new decals for all nations in battles or purchase them for Golden Eagles until September 15th!

---

---

You can find these decals in the “Weeks latest” section in the customization tab, after which they will be available to their owners in the thematic sections of vehicle customization.

Some of the decals were created by Colin 'Fenris' Muir, Jej 'CharlieFoxtrot' Ortiz, Ricardo "BlueBeta" Lo Verso and Branislav 'InkaL' Mirkov.

Tasks can be completed in vehicles of rank II-VII.

• The requirements for the decals may be checked in the “Weeks latest” section in vehicle customization or in the Achievements → Decals → Weeks latest.
  
• Tasks can be completed in random battles and events, except “Enduring Confrontation” and “Assault” missions.
  
• Decals received earlier have been temporarily moved to the section “Weeks latest” and will be moved later to the thematic sections.

Previous decals have been moved to their respective sections:

• Emblem "Forget it" of the 66th Armor Regiment 2nd Armored Division → USA (tanks).
  
• Emblem of the 21st Panzer Brigade "Lipperland" of Bundeswehr → Germany (tanks).
  
• Emblem of the 119th engineer tank Yelninsky regiment → USSR (tanks).
  
• Emblem of the 1st Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCM1), Royal Navy → Britain (fleet).
  
• 4th Sentai 2nd Chutai Tail Marking → Japan.
  
• "Ace of Clubs" emblem, 153 Gruppo → Italy.
  
• Emblem of the 345th autonomous tank company → France (tanks).
  
• "Sky Wolf" emblem of the Special Forces of the Xinjiang Military Region → China (tanks).
  
• "Eagle" emblem of the No. 8 Squadron, Indian Air Force → Neutral countries.
  
• "Buffalo" emblem of the F1 Wing → Sweden.

• The new Object 122MT “MS” squadron ground vehicle has been added.

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.