Welcome to the main aviation prize of the upcoming season of the War Thunder Battle pass called “Tropical Storm”, the Strikemaster Mk.88 strike jet aircraft!


Features:

• Subsonic.
  
• Good payload!
  
• Weak guns.

The grand prize of the new Battle pass season, “Tropical Storm” is the very unusual British Strikemaster Mk.88 attack jet, originally designed as an inexpensive attack aircraft. A vibe of the late 70’s, rainforests and VHS action movies, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is certainly a cool vehicle. Let’s dive into the details!


Arriving as a premium at rank IV in the British aviation tree, the Strikemaster Mk.88 is a compact and nimble subsonic attack aircraft which can carry a very respectable payload! This includes 4 x 500 lb bombs, including the American Mk.82 Snake Eye bombs, as well as SNEB, Mighty Mouse and Type 80 Sura rockets, plus machine gun pods. This is all quite impressive considering its size and predecessor aircraft, which was designed as a light trainer.




The main weakness however of the Strikemaster Mk.88 is its guns, which are only rifle-caliber machine guns. Due to the nature of these guns, the Strikemaster will be fairly weak to use against enemy aircraft and expectedly, will do little to no damage against ground vehicles, apart from the occasional open-top vehicle that you might encounter in battle.




In other roles, the Strikemaster Mk.88 will be fun to use as overall, its flight characteristics combined with good ordnance options will make it a viable option in ground matches or bombing air bases. In addition to this, it’s a premium aircraft that will help you research the lower ranks made up of piston aircraft in the British aviation research tree!




The premium Strikemaster Mk.88 will be available in the upcoming Battle pass season “Tropical Storm” which starts on October 25th. Until then, keep an eye out for news surrounding this Battle pass, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

The TAN-SAM-1C is the result of an effort to develop a modern, missile-based anti-air system for the JSDF which up until then primarily relied on conventional weaponry. Arriving to top rank battles as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update, the TAN-SAM-1C will reinforce the Japanese SPAA line with a highly capable new SAM system!


Features:

• Fire and forget missiles.
  
• Excellent mobility.
  
• Lightweight protection.
  
• Large silhouette.
  
• Two man crew.

Coming to War Thunder as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update, the TAN-SAM-1C will arrive to Japan's ground research tree as a top ranked SPAA vehicle! Succeeding the Type 93 in the game, the TAN-SAM-1C will offer you more powerful and longer-reaching missiles, thus increasing the level of protection it can provide for allied ground units. Let’s dive into the details!


Being accustomed to the compact Type 93, you may be left stunned by the bulky appearance of the TAN-SAM-1C at first glance. However, with its larger size also comes an expanded combat capability not least of which can be attributed to the vehicle’s formidable missiles. Bearing the same designation, the SAMs of the TAN-SAM-1C are also IR guided, similar to those found on the Type 93, but feature a vastly superior range and G-tolerance over their already familiar counterparts.




As a result, you’ll be able to engage hostile aerial threats at greater distances and with greater efficacy. However, despite the missiles’ convenient fire-and-forget feature, they are still susceptible to being thrown off course by the timely use of countermeasures by their prey. Conserving ammunition and ensuring its efficient use is imperative with the TAN-SAM-1C as it only carries 8 missiles in total. This means that during a heated engagement with hostile air presence, the TAN-SAM-1C can’t boast about excellent combat endurance. Therefore, make sure to either pick your shots carefully or stay relatively close to strategic points in order to quickly rearm!





Fortunately, being based on a truck chassis, the TAN-SAM-1C features excellent mobility. Powered by a 286 horsepower diesel engine, the vehicle can reach a very respectable top speed of 90 km/h on paved surfaces and can quickly shift positions on the battlefield — a highly useful trait, especially when bearing in mind the need to rearm frequently in between engagements. On the flip side of the coin however, the TAN-SAM-1C is a very light vehicle and as a result features practically no protection to the threats of a modern battlefield.




The TAN-SAM-1C will soon be making its way to the top rank of the Japanese ground forces tree as a much anticipated reinforcement to the SPAA line as part of the upcoming “Kings of Battle” major update. Until then, keep an eye on our website for more devs, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

On October 22nd 1956, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois (commonly known as the “Huey”) multi-role helicopter took to the skies for the first time. This helicopter was put into service in 1959, and is still in active use today! Over 70 countries use or have used this famous helicopter, where it is ranked amongst the top 3 in terms of number built.

• The UH-1C XM-30 is easy to fly and operate, and thanks to its great optical sights, you’ll be able to take out enemy ground vehicles from a distance with its TOW missiles. The UH-1C also features other ordnance options such as minigun pods, FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets, and powerful experimental 30 mm XM140 cannons. But the most interesting weapon that this helicopter can carry is the nose-mounted 40 mm M75 grenade launcher, which can come in handy when firing at open-top ground vehicles!

On October 21st 1805, the British fleet commanded by Admiral Nelson caused a crushing defeat to the combined naval forces of France and Spain at the Battle of Trafalgar. This victory not only prevented Napoleon’s invasion of England, but also made Great Britain the ultimate ruler of the seas. For this reason, October 21st is the main holiday for the Royal Navy in the UK!

• HMCS Haida is a fast and maneuverable Destroyer, with outstanding air defensive weapons in the form of 20 mm Oerlikon cannons! In addition to this, the Haida also poses a threat against enemy boats and destroyers with its 6 x 120 mm main caliber guns and torpedo capability. A well rounded ship capable of many things.

For this day, you’ll be able to get this decal by completing the following task.



“Famous Ships: HMS Victory” decal

Additional details:

• You must use a minimum of rank III.
  
• 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 → Trafalgar Day.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.

The next major update for War Thunder — “Kings of Battle”!

This Italian 90/53 self-propelled gun on a wheeled Breda 52 truck will soon arrive to War Thunder as one of the main prizes in the upcoming Battle pass season “Tropical Storm”!


Features:

• Powerful and deadly 90 mm cannon!
  
• Very little protection.
  
• Mediocre mobility.

One of the main prizes of the upcoming new Battle pass season “Tropical Storm” will be this cool wheeled tank destroyer, the Breda 90/53 — which was Italy’s way of mounting a heavy anti-aircraft gun onto a wheeled chassis. Exposed to the elements and featuring thin armor, the Breda 90/53 can still pack a deadly punch with its very-capable 90 mm self-propelled gun. Let’s dive into the details!

The Breda 90/53’s stand-out feature is that it is built around the Cannone da 90/53, which is already in the game through the 90/52 M41M. However, the M41M can only carry 8 rounds of ammunition to fire — the Breda 90/53 will be able to carry more. Its devastating cannon is powerful enough to deal with almost any enemy at rank III with its great one-shot potential!





Placing a 90 mm cannon on an army truck clearly comes with downsides in terms of protection, but this does mean enough space as a rotating platform to fire from multiple angles. The crew of this vehicle as well as the large ammunition supply are also placed at the back in this space. All in all, Italy now gets their own version of the very popular German 8.8 cm Flak 37, but with premium bonuses!





As we mentioned, a truck platform quite obviously comes with some downsides, namely its large silhouette, and general lack of protection for the crew. As a result of this, the Breda 90/53 is easy pickings for enemies on the ground as well as in the air. In addition to this, the Breda 52 army truck does not feature great driving characteristics, having only an average speed.






The new wheeled self-propelled Breda 90/53 will be available in the upcoming Battle pass season “Tropical Storm” by completing tasks, starting soon on October 25th in a hangar near you! The full list of prizes and conditions of this new season will be revealed in the near future — until then, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

The British Gay Archer torpedo boat will appear in the game as one of the top prizes in the new season of the War Thunder Battle Pass, named “Tropical Storm”!


Features:

• 40mm Bofors Autocannon.
  
• High Speed.
  
• Torpedo equipped!

The Gay Archer premium torpedo boat will be one of the vehicle prizes in the new season of the upcoming War Thunder Battle Pass “Tropical Storm”! This boat features good combat qualities and, like all premium vehicles, speeds up the research of the British coastal fleet and receives an increased reward in Silver Lions! Let’s dive into the details!





The Gay Archer is an excellent representative of War Thunder’s smaller coastal fleet. Three gasoline engines quickly accelerate the boat to 40 knots (about 74 km/h). In the bow station, this boat carries a 40mm Bofors assault gun, which can be equipped with clips of high-explosive fragmentation and armor-piercing shells. In addition to this, this boat can also be equipped with a pair of torpedoes.





Playing the Gay Archer is fun and easy! In smaller battles, it is one of the breakout boats thanks to its 40mm cannon on the bow. In larger battles with Destroyers, it is an excellent choice for capturing points among rocks and islands due to its high speed and capability to deploy a smoke screen.




The HMS Gay Archer will soon come to the game as part of the new Battle Pass “Tropical Storm”, starting in War Thunder on October 25th. We'll talk about the other prizes and full list of conditions soon, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, enjoy your matches and see you soon!

Welcome to two new pre-order packs that contain special pre-order bonuses and the following battleships: HMS Iron Duke for Great Britain and IJN Yamashiro for Japan!

• HMS "Iron Duke" (Rank 5, Britain)
  
• 3000 Golden Eagles
  
• 30 days Premium Account
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique title "Iron Duke".
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique Banner of the Duke of Wellington.

• IJN Yamashiro (Rank 5, Japan)
  
• 3000 Golden Eagles
  
• 30 days Premium Account
  
• Pre-Order Bonus: unique title "Oni no Yamashiro" (Demon Yamashiro).
  
• Pre-Order Bonus: Unique Kyoto Prefecture Flag

The HMS Iron Duke and IJN Yamashiro will be available with the release of the next major update.






Dreadnought battleship HMS Iron Duke (named after the Duke of Wellington) was the lead ship of her class in the Royal Navy. Iron Duke took part in significant battles of the First World War, including the epic Battle of Jutland where she was the flagship of the Grand Fleet under the personal command of Admiral John Jellicoe. In War Thunder, Iron Duke relies on powerful armor, an excellent main armament of 10 343mm (13.5 inch) guns and devastating high-explosive and also semi-armor-piercing shells with a large explosive charge. Like most pre-war battleships, Iron Duke has mediocre air defense, so in battle it is advisable to stay in a group of friendly ships to help protect against aircraft!








Battleship IJN Yamashiro was built before the events of the First World War but first fought during World War II. In her last battle in Leyte Gulf, Yamashiro was up against six American battleships with only 10 members of her huge crew surviving, with Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura going down with the ship too. In War Thunder, Yamashiro will be one of the best ships in terms of firepower — 12 main guns with a 356 mm caliber and 8 additional 152 mm auxiliary guns on each side! The Yamashiro is also perfectly protected, packs a good punch, and speeds up research on any ship in Japan's Bluewater fleet!

• The planned Battle Rating changes and other balancing changes in this spreadsheet have been implemented.

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.

In today’s article, we’ll be discussing two mechanics that we’d like your feedback on: improved aircraft target hit alerts and night battles. Our proposed designs are not final, as we’re explaining them to you so that we can get your feedback to make adjustments if necessary. Let’s dive into the details!



As we mentioned in our previous Roadmap article, we’ve been working on this mechanic and would like your feedback on it.


As of now, the death of an aircraft is counted under one of the following conditions: the pilot was knocked out; the aircraft crashed into an object and was completely destroyed; the aircraft had its tail torn off; the aircraft received damage that causes it to be counted as dead but it can still conduct further combat.

Relating to the last part, currently when an enemy aircraft gets destroyed (“Target destroyed”), they can sometimes still fly, shoot, land to repair and have no automatic bail out. The aim of this was to allow you to score a frag and at the same time prevent another player from finishing off the heavily damaged enemy aircraft and steal the frag.

We’d rather not count the aircraft as destroyed based on "guesses", but instead would like to leave you the opportunity to attempt to control a “severely” damaged aircraft until it's either completely destroyed or returns to the airfield to repair.

However, with different game modes, aircraft control options, player experiences, and the number of aircraft in the game, there hasn’t been a single system that could reliably and accurately determine this state.

Due to this, we’re proposing to remove this condition from the game mechanics and instead replace it with the “Severe damage” mechanic. How will this work? If an aircraft is damaged to the extent where it would have been counted as being destroyed previously, despite still being able to fly, shoot and land to repair, this new mechanic will count it as severely damaged. No destruction or death will be credited until the severely damaged aircraft is further finished off.




If you severely damage an enemy aircraft and then further damage them enough to the extent that they are now classed as destroyed, you’ll receive rewards that mount up to how destroying an enemy aircraft was previously.

In addition to this, if you severely damage an enemy aircraft but did not destroy them (because they flew away for example), you will not receive a destruction but instead a new reward called “Severe damage”. The amount for this reward is slightly less than the reward for a destruction.

When a friendly player finishes off an enemy aircraft that is severely damaged, they will receive a new message: “Finished Off”. For doing this, they will receive the rest of the reward and the frag in their statistics. For the player who inflicted the original severe damage, they will also receive a fully-fledged frag to their statistics as well — however, no additional reward because they did not play a part in finishing this enemy off.

As a result, both players will receive a frag of the enemy aircraft in their statistics, as well as counting for tasks and camouflage unlocks as usual, for example.


If an enemy aircraft that is severely damaged crashes, the frag of this aircraft will be credited to the player who originally inflicted the severe damage. The remainder of the reward for their destruction is accrued.


When the battle finishes, aircraft that are still severely damaged will then be counted as destroyed, with the frag given to the player who inflicted the severe damage. The player who was severely damaged will have a death credited to their stats, and the remainder of the reward for their destruction will be accrued to the player who inflicted the severe damage. This is to avoid players who get severely damaged to climb high and fly away to avoid being destroyed.

Let us know your thoughts on this proposed design by leaving feedback. As we mentioned, this proposed design is not final. If the majority of you like it, we’ll keep it as it is explained. However, if you dislike it and have suggestions, let us know so we can make adjustments if necessary.





As we mentioned in our initial Roadmap, we planned to make Night Battles selectable by the player. We’re going to be adding this and in addition, we’d like your feedback on some further improvements.


Night battles will be selectable in the gamemodes screen. From here, you’ll be able to enable or disable the “Participate in night battles” option. Night battles will only be available in Ground Realistic Battles and the option to participate in them is enabled by default. However, having this option enabled doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get into a night battle. This is because you’ll be put into two queues: for regular battles without night and for battles with night, where you’ll have the chance to get into both. The chance of getting into a night battle will be approximately the same as before, before night battles were turned off.


Night battles will only be available for 10.0 Battle Rating and above — where the vast majority of vehicles have night vision and thermal vision.


If you have the “Participate in night battles” option enabled and play a night battle, you’ll be able to earn rewards! These rewards are purely cosmetic and are focused on night, for example night vision goggles as a decoration, and a loading screen of tanks firing in the dark. The full list includes: a loading screen, titles, a decal, 3D decorations and player profile icons. The progress for obtaining them is shown in the same area where you can switch night battles on or off.



Night battles allow you to diversify your matches while at the same time experience some different and difficult scenarios that are not present during daytime battles. Having said this, we understand that not everyone likes this type of complication, so we’re giving you the option whether or not you want to participate in night battles. As night battles are generally more difficult to play in than daytime battles, we’d like to reward players who play in them with minor night themed cosmetics.

Let us know your thoughts on this proposed design by leaving feedback. As we mentioned, this proposed design is not final. If the majority of you like it, we’ll keep it as it is explained. However, if you dislike it and have suggestions, let us know so we can make adjustments if necessary.


We knew you’d ask, so we’ll include it here too. We know your anticipation about skill bonuses in RP as well as research bonuses for new nations, and we’re working on these right now too!

That’s all for now! Please continue to leave your feedback and comments: be it either on our official forums, social media, on Steam, Reddit, as well as other platforms that we read. And remember, let us know your feedback about these proposed design changes. See you soon!