Meet an anti-aircraft platform that features four 12.7 mm machine guns on a light APC chassis which is going to be a very welcomed addition to the lower ranks of the French ground tree!


Features:

• Light tracked chassis.
  
• High rate of fire.
  
• Good mobility.
  
• Light protection.

Vehicle History
[expand type=details]
Based on the AMX-13 light tank, the VTT armored personnel carrier was developed and launched into mass production in 1957. As this chassis was widely produced it became quite a suitable platform for numerous experimental variants, a notable example being the AMX-13 VTT / DCA (Véhicule de Transport de Troupe/Défense Contre Avions). It was armed with an American M45 .50 caliber quadmount, the same found on the iconic M16 Half-track. Unlike the M16 however, the VTT DCA was only a single prototype and didn’t reach mass production.
[/expand]



Today we’re continuing our coverage on the spring update and will be talking about the rapid firing VTT DCA. This little beast will soon be available in the lower ranks of the French tech tree, and will make for a highly effective anti-air vehicle for beginner players. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer!

If you’re an experienced tanker, you’ll find the armament of the VTT DCA quite familiar. This is because it features the American M45 Quadmount that can be found on several vehicles throughout the game, some of which include the M16 Half-track in the American and Japanese tree, to more obscure vehicles such as the CCKW 353 for China and the CM52 for Italy. However, this addition to France is comparatively stronger, since it’s based on an APC chassis which can also fire directly forwards — something the CCKW and CM52 struggle with.

Interesting: The American M16 with the M45 Quadmount received the daunting nickname of “Meat Chopper” during World War II (hence the name of this blog)!

Since the VTT DCA is going to be at Rank II, its high caliber machine guns are not only going to be useful against aircraft, but also against lightly armored ground vehicles if you bring some AP belts into your battle. Thanks to its mobility, this vehicle can also be used effectively in the support role, where its machine guns can make very quick work of enemy tracks. The sheer volume of fire can quite easily obstruct an enemy’s field of view if fire is concentrated on the optic sights!

Despite having more armor than most anti-air vehicles around this rank, this armor can’t be fully relied on since it only offers protection against shrapnel and light machine guns. What’s rather interesting though is that the VTT DCA has a rather unusual crew layout: the driver and gunner are in standard positions in the front of the hull and manning the turret respectively, but the commander and loader are positioned at the back of the hull. Because of this, the VTT DCA has a decent chance of being able to survive a shot or two without being taken out, which is something most contemporary SPAA vehicles can’t boast about.

In your matches by Ilya, Community Manager: “It just so happens that I’ve only recently started progressing through the French tree, so I’m especially looking forward to the VTT DCA in game. A strong point of this machine is that it doesn’t have a cabin getting in the way of how much it can depress the guns, something a lot of early SPAA struggle with, and this definitely helps a lot when going after ground vehicles. I would advise you only use the armor-piercing incendiary belts as these are effective against both aircraft and ground vehicles, giving you a lot of versatility and saving you time from having to switch belts.”

That’s today’s blog wrapped! All in all, the VTT DCA will soon be arriving in the next major update and is sure to be a neat addition to France’s Rank II ground forces. We’ve got a lot of other interesting vehicles left to show you, so stay tuned to the news where we’ll see you in the next blog with all the details.

In this blog we’ll be taking a look at a familiar helicopter silhouette with a distinctly British twist. Meet the Wessex HU.5, which will soon be coming to the game in the next War Thunder major update. This important domestic rotary-winged icon will soon reinforce the British helicopter tree! 


Features:

• AS.11 and AS.12 AGMs.
  
• Turboshaft engine.
  
• Improved flight performance.

Vehicle History
[expand type=details]
Westland Helicopters began work on the Wessex in the late 1950s after the relative success of their previous American origin Dragonfly and Whirlwind licence built designs. Following the acquisition rights to produce the Sikorsky S58/H-34, a singular S58 was transferred to Britain as a development and template vehicle. By 1958, a domestically produced and redeveloped version powered by a Napier Gazelle turboshaft engine, rather than the piston engine of the Sikorsky design, designated the Wessex HAS.1 (Helicopter Anti-Submarine), would take to the skies for the first time. Entering service initially with the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force would later adopt the type too. In addition to this, the Royal Australian Navy and several other customers that Westland could sell too.

The HAS.3 would further enhance the systems on board the Wessex, followed by the HU.5 Commando variant. Primarily a troop transport and also utilised in the Search and Rescue role, the HU.5 employed a further improved power plant in the form of two Rolls-Royce Gnome engines. Serving all over the world from Cyprus, to the Indonesia–Malaysia conflict and the Falklands War, the Wessex was operated in utility, lift, transport and attack roles.

Retiring finally in the early 2000s, the Wessex was finally replaced in all major roles it maintained by the Westland Sea King which it had served alongside for many years.
[/expand]



The Wessex HU.5 is a British development of the already well known H-34 family. Domestically produced and improved, this modification is an attack variant of this famous helicopter that will provide a variety of ordinance options as well as a more powerful power plant. Let’s take a closer look!

While it might look visually quite similar to the H-34 that French and American pilots may be used too, the Wessex is quite a different beast under the hood! Powered by two Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, the Wessex has a significant power increase and performance over the Choctaw. The distinctive nose profile marks this helicopter’s main distinguishing feature compared to its piston engined counterpart. 




The Wessex also provides an expanded weapon arsenal over its counterparts, with both the AS.11 and AS.12 on offer. While these missiles can already be found on the Wasp, the Wessex can mount 2 of each at the same time. As well as this, you can take machine guns and unguided rockets to really maximise the flexibility that this helicopter offers. 

Interesting: The Westland Wessex served for 42 years in British service, one of the longest service lives of any British helicopter. It served in almost every major role, from Troop transport, Anti-Submarine warfare, Commando operations, Search and Rescue and even served as part of the “Queen's Flight”, carrying members of the Royal Family.

In your matches by Scott, Community Manager: “The Wessex will provide you with a very versatile all round platform to bridge the gaps between the existing British helicopters. It’s the polar opposite of the small and nimble Scout and Wasp, being significantly larger and more of a chunkier target, but you do however get to take the best of both of those and combine a loadout of AS.11s and AS.12s at once. Keep your distance initially and use your AS.12s first to deal with any SPAAs or stronger threats, then move in closer to utilise those AS.11s. Whilst you should not rely on them, the Wessex also has machine guns which can be useful in some situations for light targets or self defence. Giving you a great all rounder helicopter platform for your ground lineups.”

The Wessex will soon be coming in for land in the next War Thunder major update, bolstering the ranks of the British Helicopter tree. Keep your eyes on the news for more information about what else you can find coming soon in the next update!

Your screenshots from last week were great! A lot of you captured the theme perfectly with flying acrobatic smoke, or two vehicles close together. 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 #WTscreen108. You have time until the 1st of March 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.

• Your screenshot must include a player vehicle with black paint on it (You can use decals).
  
• You must add the #WTscreen108 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
  
• Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.

[/b]

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.

[/list]


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3162366257
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3164701370
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3163899048

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3165249473
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3162593900
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3163080785

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

• In Air Simulator Battles, mission points will no longer be awarded for attacking an enemy aircraft on an airfield that had not earned any mission points since their respawn. This is to prevent players who match-fix from easily earning mission points in this mode. More details about this here.
  
• A bug where the price drop threshold bar on Sword of Justice event tasks could be displayed on other tasks in the game 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.

Today we’re announcing two vehicles that can be pre-ordered before the next major update: the Centauro RGO wheeled light tank that’s in service with the Royal Guard of Oman, and the Swedish Strv 121B prototype that has its own name, Christian II.



The Centauro RGO is a special version of the Italian Centauro I wheeled light tank for the Royal Guard of Oman, which is built on a modern chassis and also features reinforced turret armor. Overall, this is one of the best light tanks in the game thanks to its max speed of over 100 km/h, a 120 mm gun that can fire effective sub-caliber shells, a thermal imager, a LWS/LR and a scout UAV. A legend of higher ranked battles, the Centauro RGO is a premium vehicle which is going to allow it to earn more Silver Lions and Research Points in battles. This pack comes with unique pre-order bonuses!




To pre-order from the in-game hangar, go to Shop > Online Store.

69.99

• Centauro I 120 RGO (Rank 7, Italy)
  
• 2500 Golden Eagles
  
• Premium account for 20 days
  
• Pre-order bonus: “Djinn of All Deserts” title
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique Arabian cobra decal

The Strv 121B experimental tank was an attempt by the Swedish Army to bring the Strv 121 tank up to the level of the Strv 122. There was only one prototype built that had its own name of Christian II, which received updated electronics and a more modern smoke grenade launcher, but was not accepted into production due to the high cost of the project. In War Thunder, Christian II will receive a unique camouflage, a removable camouflage net and is a premium vehicle, which is going to allow it to earn more Silver Lions and Research Points in battles. Don’t miss out, as this pack comes with unique pre-order bonuses!




To pre-order from the in-game hangar, go to Shop > Online Store.

69.99

• Strv 121B Christian II (Rank 7, Sweden)
  
• 2500 Golden Eagles
  
• Premium account for 20 days
  
• Pre-order bonus: “Blue blood” title
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique “Arms of Christian II of Denmark” decal

Today we’re going to be talking about the main reward for the next event called Sword of Justice: meet the Indian Jaguar IS fighter-bomber!


Features:

• Guided bombs.
  
• All-aspect R550 Magic 2 air-to-air missiles.
  
• Thermal targeting pod.
  
• RWR and countermeasures.
  
• Only 1 ADEN cannon.
  
• No radar.

The Jaguar IS, the main reward for the Sword of Justice event, is not only capable of effectively supporting your team in ground battles from the air, but can also stand up well in air duels if required. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at this special Jaguar!

Despite the external similarity, the Indian Jaguar actually has many differences compared with the British Jaguar. Instead of the usual pair of 30 mm ADEN cannons, there’s only one available as the second has made way for the LITENING targeting pod, which features a thermal imager and gives the ability to drop Mk.13 guided bombs. In addition to this, the classic Sidewinder is replaced with the Matra Magic 2 all-aspect air-to-air missile which is installed on overwing pylons.




The targeting pod for guided bombs, plus the air-to-air missile rail will not take up space on any underwing hardpoints, meaning they can be completely filled with treats for ground vehicles! Thanks to this, the Jaguar IS is capable of taking up to 8 x 1000 lb bombs — regular or tail fin — and launch rails for smaller unguided rockets. To top it all off, a ballistic computer is at hand, which helps immensely to drop these bombs and fire rockets precisely at targets.

In terms of speed, the Jaguar IS is fitted with two Adour 811 engines which are licensed and built by Indian company HAL. Thanks to the addition of this new engine, the Jaguar IS has more thrust than the Jaguar GR.1A that’s found in the British tree, meaning its overall performance and top speed is better in general!

Interesting: Indian Jaguar IS jets were known as “Shamsher” (Sword of Justice) by the Indian Air Force!

Despite generally having a sufficient max speed for a strike aircraft, a great ADEN cannon and air-to-air missiles, it may be better to play the Jaguar IS in the role of a strike aircraft instead. This is due to its lightweight airframe, meaning any large payload carried will cause it to lose significant speed. Plus, just like British Jaguars, this one tends to quickly lose energy in a turn, where its climb rate is not as competitive as other jets. Although, aerial duels can still be done. It does have good defense against any potential in-coming missile attacks, thanks to a RWR and flares/chaff with 60 that can be launched, helping to make the Jaguar IS less susceptible to attacks from air-to-air missiles and anti-air SAMs.



With that, we’ve rounded up today’s event blog! As you can see, the Jaguar IS is still capable of surprising any enemy. You’ll be able to earn yourself this jet for your British lineups by taking part in the Sword of Justice event, which has just started. Good luck and have fun in your battles!

More details about the Sword of Justice event

We’ve prepared some Defender of the Fatherland activities including several tournaments, a decal and decoration that can be obtained by playing Soviet vehicles, as well as 4 returning Soviet premiums for Golden Eagles.

When: From February 22nd (10:00 GMT) until February 26th (07:00 GMT).
Where: USSR > Army/Aviation > Premium vehicles.

• KV-1E — 3,200 Golden Eagles
  
• T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) — 1,300 Golden Eagles
  
• Pe-2-205 Peshka — 1,500 Golden Eagles
  
• IL-2M “Avenger” — 1,300 Golden Eagles

For completing the following tasks, you’ll be able to earn both of these unique items.

When: From February 22nd (10:00 GMT) until February 26th (07:00 GMT).

Task: Play 3 battles using any USSR vehicle to receive the “Red Army Tank” decal. Win 5 battles using USSR ground vehicles to receive the “Budenovka” decoration!

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 → Defender of the Fatherland.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.

Take part in the Defender series tournaments that have a total prize pool of 119,000 Golden Eagles!
The Defender tournament series will be held from February 23rd to 24th. You can sign up for any tournament, even several if you’d like!

The winners will receive any starter pack of their choice, and the runners-up will receive the “Protector of Sparta” decal and the “Defender of the Fatherland” title. The number of prizes is limited and depends on the number of participants in each tournament.

The end of registration for the tournament and the time that the tournament bracket is generated can be found by clicking on the “About the tournament” tab.

Join the official War Thunder Esports Discord to receive up-to-date information about the game’s esports news, as well as find a team for the tournament.

Total prize pool 119,000 GE
Defender of the Fatherland (Title)
Protector of Sparta (Decal)

• A bug that caused a boat’s foam and wake trail to become more distinct after firing the guns has been fixed.
  
• FlaRakPz 1 — a bug that caused the radar antenna to display incorrectly for other players 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.

On February 21st, South Africa honors its fallen soldiers and celebrates Armed Forces Day. It’s a massive celebration: in 2023, more than 8,000 people and hundreds of vehicles participated in a ceremonial exercise, four warships were open to the public, and concerts and other events were held.





The following bundle featuring the Rooikat and Rooivalk is available for purchase from the in-game hangar > Shop > Online Store.

Price: 110 76.99

• Rooikat 105 Pack;
  
• Rooivalk Pack.

Get yourself this decal by completing the task below.


“Emblem of the South African Army” decal

When: From February 21st (11:00 GMT) until February 23rd (07:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using British vehicles to receive the “Emblem of the South African Army” 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 → South African Armed Forces Day.
  
• You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Severe Damage mechanic which was first announced last year.

Back in the first Roadmap, we spoke about a new aircraft destruction mechanic and made an article asking for your feedback. Ever since, we’ve been thinking through this idea and have been carefully designing it. Let’s take a look at what we’ve been up to, and when and where the testing of this new mechanic will take place.


Briefly, the severe damage mechanic simplifies the system for scoring an aircraft destruction and makes it more understandable and transparent: as long as an aircraft can theoretically continue to fight, it’ll not be considered as destroyed.

To destroy a plane you’ll need to hit its pilot or inflict enough damage so that its tail is torn off. For helicopters, the conditions for destruction are similar: knocking out the pilot or inducing a large accumulated amount of damage to the fuselage, which emulates the destruction of the main structure, in aircraft it usually leads to the tail being torn off.

All damage that significantly reduces the performance characteristics of an aircraft and can be formalized falls into the category of severe damage. Inflicting this damage means that you have most likely damaged the enemy to the point where their combat effectiveness is critically reduced. The enemy can still fight on, but their effectiveness depends on their skills, aircraft model, control method and the nature of the damage.



Severe damage to a plane is considered to be: destruction of all engines (or destroying one engine if there is only one left), destruction of all elements of the control system (or the remaining controls left), which makes impossible to control the ailerons, elevators and rudders, separation of more than half of at least one wing, and destruction of all horizontal stabilizers (or the remainder of the horizontal stab).

Severe damage to helicopters is considered to be: destruction of all engines (or destroying one engine if there is only one left), tail separation (except for helicopters with coaxial rotors), damage to the tail propeller’s control rod or shaft, which makes it impossible to control it (except for helicopters with coaxial rotors), destruction of any propeller shaft, and destruction of any transmission.


When you deal severe damage to an enemy aircraft, you’ll receive a new “Severe damage” reward. This reward is 80% of the reward for a destruction. At the same time in the statistics window, the number of enemy aircraft destroyed will be supplemented with a “+” symbol by the number of current severe damages. For example, the entry “3+2” means that 3 vehicles were destroyed, and 2 more were severely damaged and are still alive. When a severely damaged enemy is destroyed or they repair themselves, they’ll disappear from this column.

If you continue the attack and achieve the destruction of the enemy, you’ll receive the remaining 20% of the reward. Accordingly, the reward for severe damage and subsequent independent finishing off the enemy is equal to the reward that’s given for destroying the enemy without the severe damage mechanic (80% + 20% = 100%).

If you didn’t manage to finish off a severely damaged aircraft and they flew away, this status will remain assigned to them. If your ally finishes them off, the following will happen: they’ll receive a new message saying “Aircraft finished off” or “Helicopter finished off”, 40% of the reward for destroying the enemy and an increase in the number of destroyed aircraft in the statistics window.

When this happens, you’ll be shown the “A kill of a severely damaged aircraft / helicopter counted” message and the destruction of an aircraft will be counted in the statistics window, but without occurring an additional reward, since you did not play any role in finishing off this enemy, and had previously received a reward for your action. The overall reward when two players play a part in the destruction of an enemy is higher with the severe damage mechanic: 80% to the player that caused the severe damage, and 40% to the player who got the finishing off. As a result, both players will receive a kill in the statistics window for defeating the enemy, which is taken into account when unlocking camouflages and completing tasks.



An aircraft can only receive severe damage once: all subsequent damage by the same or other players can only be normal or critical damage, or will lead to the destruction of the aircraft. Therefore, the destruction of one aircraft can only be counted towards two players: the one who inflicted severe damage and the one who finished off the aircraft.

A new “Severe Damage” item will also appear in the summary at the end of the battle if you received at least one of these rewards in battle. In the detailed table for the tooltip for the “Destruction of aircraft” statistics item, a new column will be shown: “Finishing off”, which can take the following values: “Own target”, if you destroyed an enemy who was previously severely damaged by yourself (20% reward), “Ally’s target”, if you destroyed an enemy who was severely damaged by an ally (40% reward), or “—” if you destroyed an enemy without severe damage (100% reward).


If a severely damaged aircraft crashes, its destruction is awarded to the player who caused the severe damage. As soon as this occurs, they’ll receive the rest of the award.


After successfully repairing an aircraft with severe damage at an airfield, the player who caused the severe damage will have this severe damage subtracted from their statistics (the issued reward will not be taken away). They’ll also not receive an increase in the number of destroyed enemies in their statistics, if after the repair, the battle ends and the aircraft crashes or is destroyed by allies.

After repairing an aircraft with severe damage, it can receive new severe damage again, as if it was a new aircraft having just spawned in.


At the end of a battle, all severely damaged aircraft will be considered destroyed — players in this state will receive the following message: “Written off due to severe damage”. A death in the statistics will be credited, and the player who caused the severe damage will be credited with a destroyed aircraft, where the rest of the reward will be given. This is done so that players with a severely damaged aircraft don’t try to hide and avoid combat in the hope that they’ll not be finished off.

So that you can familiarize yourself with the changes described above, we’ve prepared a special event for testing this new mechanic. These are available in the “Events & Tournaments” window. There are 3 events in total: initial ranks, Arcade Battles (Battle Rating 1.0 to 1.7), average ranks, Arcade Battles (Battle Rating 4.3 to 5.3), high ranks, Realistic Battles (Battle Rating 11.0 to 12.0). All events follow the normal rules of the specified game mode with the economy and achievements enabled (except Battle Pass tasks, challenges, and stages for the Sword of Justice event in order to avoid match-fixing battles as this test would be sparsely populated).

Events are available from February 20th (11:00 GMT) until February 23rd (11:00 GMT).

We welcome all of your feedback on the Severe Damage mechanic in the comments!