Jul 30, 2021

In Development: Challenger 2 Streetfighter II

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

You might have already seen the images in our official channels some time ago, but it is only today that we are ready to reveal more about the upcoming Challenger 2 Streetfighter II Main Battle Tank.

The Challenger 2, of course, needs no real introduction, as it is one of the few truly unique MBTs currently in service. It was developed between 1986 and 1991 by Vickers as a redesign of its Challenger 1 predecessor, offering significant armor improvements. Over 400 units had been produced in total.

Of course, thirty years after its introduction, the design is showing its age already and there have been several improvement programs and concepts over the years, aimed at improving its performance. Perhaps the best known of these are:

CLIP (Combat Lethality Improvement Programme from 2006), replacing the obsolete rifled gun with a Rheinmetall 120mm L/55 smoothbore (didn’t go anywhere)
LEP (Life Extension Programme), which included the Black Night demonstrator from 2018 and eventually led to the ongoing Challenger 3 project

Aside from these main directions, however, there have been other upgrades to the Challenger, one of them being the Street Fighter (or Streetfighter) kit. This was a heavy passive armor upgrade developed for the Iraq War and deployed in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 in limited amounts. The name started as completely unofficial, but it sort of caught on during its use, as it was primarily intended for urban combat.

It was a successful upgrade, but it didn’t deal with the other issues the tank was having, such as its relatively obsolete firepower. The venerable 120mm L30 rifled cannon was effective in its day, and is certainly enough to knock out older Soviet equipment, but against cutting-edge threats such as the Russian Armata or the newest T-90 series versions, it simply won’t cut it. Challenger 2’s electronics have also become obsolete over the years and a replacement is in order, hence the long-running LEP project. The Streetfighter II project attempted to address many of those problems.

Developed in 2018 and 2019, the prototype was conceived with urban combat in mind, despite missing any major armor upgrades save for a massive dozer blade, which, however, is primarily meant to enhance its ability to clear obstacles, especially various erected barricades. Infantry units were also requested to provide feedback, submitting their ideas what they’d find handy in a tank they have to work around.

Another extremely important element in urban combat is situational awareness. The tank was therefore equipped with a number of cameras, including one below the gun, which allows its crew to “peek” around a corner without exposing the body of the tank itself. The cameras are, of course, fragile and were therefore designed to be easy to replace – a small cost to save the lives of tank crews. But that’s not everything – the crew also had a rather unique Israeli system called IronVision. Developed by the Israeli Elbit company, the IronVision assembles a complete image of the battlefield using external cameras, and projects the image via the crew’s helmets. As a result, the crew could actually “see through armor” and is able to see outside without the usual optics limitations and, more importantly, without unnecessary exposure.

And last but definitely not least, there was the firepower enhancement in the form of a Brimstone ATGM launcher. The Brimstone is a ground version (or, rather, evolution) of the famous Hellfire ATGM. As such, it is a large, powerful weapon that can knock out enemy vehicles (or soft targets, depending on the warhead type) at extreme distances. While firing the main gun is definitely cheaper than a single ATGM launch, the presence of the Hellfire launcher gave the crew a tool to fight pretty much any enemy MBT on the battlefield despite the obsolescence of the main gun.

With that being said, if you are keeping up with the British military news, you already know how the story of this prototype ended. A single vehicle was thoroughly evaluated... and rejected. In fact, the British Army decided to cut the amount of service Challenger 2 MBTs considerably (from 227 to 148 tanks) while having them upgraded to a new standard called Challenger 3. In this version, they will receive, amongst other things, a new turret armed with a smoothbore L/55 gun. However, that is a different vehicle entirely and has nothing to do with the Streetfighter II. The Streetfighter II prototype was either mothballed or disassembled in 2020. Of its current fate, nothing is known.

In Armored Warfare, the Challenger 2 Streetfighter II will be a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank.

But before we tell you more about it, please note:

The numbers below are very preliminary as the vehicle has not been properly tested. They are sure to change and should only be discussed as an indicator of how we’d like to set the vehicle up.

With that being said:

Gameplay-wise, what we have here is effectively a Challenger 2, but with several additional features. Armor-wise, the vehicle will be relatively well-protected. Unlike the progression Challenger 2, this version does not have the upgraded TES armor kit available, but its hull is protected by a dozer blade providing not only extra armor, but also a bonus to ramming damage. Additional protection will be provided by an Iron Fist hard-kill APS, the model of which is based on the Black Night Challenger. On the down side, the vehicle will lack the side protection of other Challenger variants in the game. This will make it relatively vulnerable when flanked.

To effectively bring the front to bear, the tank will be powered by a 1500hp MTU diesel engine, offering the same speed and maneuverability as the progression variant. In other words, the vehicle will not be exactly nimble – after all, it weighs 75 tons – but the mobility will be adequate (0 to 32 km/h acceleration in 7.16 seconds, 60 km/h maximum speed).

And, finally, there’s the firepower. The main gun will stay the same along with its APFSDS and HESH shells:

120mm APFSDS L28A1: 750mm penetration, 600 damage
120mm HESH L31A5: 580mm penetration, 540 damage

Its rate of fire will be somewhat reduced – it basic reload time will be 7.5 seconds.

Not to worry though, the secondary weapon system will more than make up for it. We are, of course, talking about the Brimstone double ATGM launcher. This ATGM was developed from the Hellfire and will thus share its properties in the game. Specifically:

Penetration: 1300mm
Damage: 1200
Tandem HEAT warhead
Partial reload within the launcher
3.75 seconds between both launches

To balance this level of firepower, there will be some drawbacks. First and foremost, this missile launcher is intended as a long-range weapon. As you can see from the screenshots, it’s aiming upwards. What this means in the game that the missile will fly up before the aiming mechanics take effect, leading to a minimum range of roughly 70 meters. If you are already familiar with other Armored Warfare vehicles, it will behave the same way as the Abrams AGDS missiles do.

Secondly, while you can launch both missiles within 3.75 seconds, emptying the launcher will be followed by a long reload time of 30 seconds. Use your missiles strategically. The rest of the vehicle is pretty straightforward; low camouflage and decent viewrange (390m) thanks to this vehicle’s advanced optics.

In summation, what we have here is a breakthrough tank with excellent frontal armor, which can soften the enemies up at long distances using its powerful guided missiles. Survivability-wise, it offers lots of frontal protection, but the damage over time output will only be mediocre. Additionally, when breaking through enemy lines with this MBT, you will have to rely on your team to guard your flanks, as your side armor will be fairly weak. Overextend yourself and your demise will be swift. However, in defensive positions, this tank will be difficult to dislodge, and certainly dangerous at any distance with unwary enemies being caught off-guard by its two missiles.

We hope that you’ll enjoy this vehicle and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Jul 29, 2021

Historical Camouflages – Korean Desert

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

As you know already, the Merc on Vacation event (featuring three historical camouflages from European vacation destination countries) will start soon. With that being said, that’s not all we are preparing for you for August. One thing we’ll newly be celebrating this year is the Korean Independence Day and today, we’d like to show you the first item connected to it – the Korean Desert camouflage.

Despite being known mostly for its role of keeping the North Korean military in check, the Republic of Korea Army participated in several major conflicts over the last three decades, including Operation Desert Storm, Iraq War and the Afghanistan operation. In Operation Desert Storm, its presence was a token one – a medical team that, nevertheless, managed to treat over 1600 victims during its short stay.

The Iraq involvement, on the other hand, was a more considerable one. As an American ally, South Korea sent a relatively sizeable unit called the Zaytun Division (named after the Arabic word for “olive”) to Iraq. This unit was active between 2004 and 2008 as a peacekeeping force and consisted mostly of medics, engineers, and their security. Over the course of the deployment, over 8000 South Korean soldiers in total saw service in Iraq with the peak size of the unit reaching over 3000 troops. Its main tasks consisted of construction and repair of war-torn roads, power lines and other infrastructure. It suffered no combat casualties during the mission and managed to earn the trust and respect of the locals.

In Iraq, one of the transport vehicles the Zaytun Division was using was the Kia KM450 truck. This was a fairly old vehicle that had its roots in the United States of America, as it was an improved, license-produced version of the Vietnam-era M715 light utility truck. The KM450 was introduced in 1998 and is in service (and production) to this day. For the Zaytun Division, this wasn’t an ideal solution – the truck, while rugged, was not armored and required additional plating for its cargo (or troop) area.

Nevertheless, the Koreans made do with it, as they would during their other peacekeeping operations abroad, for example in Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan, Philippines, and Lebanon.

These trucks were painted in a desert camouflage consisting of wide sand and green stripes with narrow brown stripes between them. Pattern-wise, this camouflage resembles the standard Korean camouflage, which is itself a variant of the old American pre-1986 MERDC camo. One vehicle that will look nicely in it will be the K-153C Raybolt, which uses a new Kia platform intended to replace the aging KM450.

We hope that you’ll enjoy this little-known camouflage and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Jul 29, 2021

Offer: Middle East

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

M60T skin for the Sabra Mk.2 Main Battle Tank
Merkava Mk.2D and Israeli bundle (with an Israeli camouflage and base paint)
Syrian camouflage bundle
Altay Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
Magach 7A Tier 6 Premium Main Battle Tank
Sabre Tier 6 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
Challenger 1 Falcon Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
Northern Wind Loot Crate with Battle Coins and Battle Coin Boosters

Between July 29 and August 5, 2021, the following items will be available:

M60T skin for Sabra

This skin for the Sabra Mk.2 Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank is based on the Sabra MBTs that participated in the Turkish incursion into Syria in October 2019 (Operation Peace Spring). It combines a number of real-life elements, turning your Sabra into a Turkish service MBT. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

The skin is available either as a standalone item or as a part of the M60T bundle, which contains the following items:

M60T skin for the Sabra Mk.2 MBT
Sabra Mk.2 Tier 7 Premium MBT
500 Gold

That way, you can get this amazing vehicle together with the skin. Alternatively, the Sabra is also available in other bundles without the skin.

Merkava Mk.2D and Israeli Bundle

The Merkava IID (also known as Mk.2D) is an advanced version of the standard Mk.2 Merkava, upgraded with a modular “Dor-Dalet” composite armor kit. It’s a tough and unyielding vehicle, featuring a number of battle-proven components such as its 105mm rifled cannon. The first version of the Merkava Mk.2 entered service in 1983 and the last vehicles were phased out in 2016 after thirty long years.

In Armored Warfare, the Merkava IID is a Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank. It is not equipped with an explosive reactive armor kit, but is, nevertheless, a very tough customer due to the introduction of the applique armor, allowing it to take a lot of damage. Additionally, the tank is equipped with a Ready Rack mechanism, significantly increasing the rate of fire for the first four shots.

This vehicle is also available as a part of the Israeli bundle, which contains the following items:

Merkava Mk.2D Tier 7 Premium MBT
Sinai Grey base paint
Israeli Experimental camouflage
Israeli Flag decal (free bonus)
Israeli Flag banner (free bonus)

The Sinai Grey base paint is based on the color commonly used by the Israeli vehicles. You can now apply it to all your Merkava MBTs for maximum realism. The camouflage, on the other hand, is an experimental one and not used in active service. It was developed in the 1980s for a series of trials, but Israel ultimately decided not to adopt it. Still, it’s a piece of history and will fit your Merkava Mk.2 MBT really well. You can read more about both in our dedicated article.

Syrian Bundle

This gorgeous Syrian camouflage was seen in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War on a captured Syrian BMP-1 IFV and consists of sand, green and grey stripes. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

It is available as a part of the Syrian Camouflage bundle, which contains the following items:

Syrian camouflage
14 days of Premium Time
2.000 Gold
Syrian Flag decal (free bonus)
Syrian Flag banner (free bonus)

This camouflage can be installed on any vehicle that has the camouflage customization feature available and can be used in all three environments.

Altay

The Altay is the result of a Turkish program to build a true indigenous MBT. After a decade of development with hundreds of millions of dollars spent, Turkey finally achieved its goal and built a tank that is roughly on par in performance with decades-old Leopard 2 variants while it still uses many foreign components, including some of its most critical systems. Nevertheless, future Altay variants are expected to feature some cutting edge components.

In Armored Warfare, the Altay is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank based on the current prototypes, but also upgraded by various hypothetical aftermarket components of the future to surpass its current capabilities and to match its assigned Tier in power. The basic tank is – gameplay-wise – a mobile sniper, much like the Leopard 2 series, relying on its mobility and the penetration of its shells rather than on its armor. There are two key features to this tank: Adjustable Suspension (tilting forward and to the side) and Hybrid Engine with its distinctive electric sound, giving the vehicle excellent mobility and agility.

The Altay Tier 10 Premium MBT is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.

Magach 7A

The Magach 7A is an early M60 series American tank, upgraded by the Israelis to meet the requirements of the 1990s battlefield, especially to combat the threat of anti-tank guided missiles that had started to find their way into the hands of various terrorist groups in the late 1980s. The most distinctive upgrade is its box-shaped extra turret armor. While well-protected, the tank was quite lethargic when it came to its mobility due to the use of its old engine, a shortcoming that was only corrected in the final evolution step of the Magach series, the Magach 7C. You can read more about it in a dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Magach 7A is a Tier 6 Premium Main Battle Tank. With its excellent gun accuracy and aiming time values, the Magach 7A is a good sniper for its class and is perfectly suitable for those players, who want to experience long-range combat but who also want to keep some level of protection and survivability instead of completely relying on mobility and camouflage. It’s a rather sluggish vehicle, but more than a match for anything that it encounters on the battlefield.

Sabre

The Sabre is an interesting British recon vehicle, assembled together from older Scorpion hulls and Fox turrets after both parts were brought to zero hour state (completely overhauled) by a company called Alvis. The resulting vehicle from the early 1990s was called Sabre and, considering it was made of decades old components, it worked fairly well as a scouting vehicle, participating in the Iraq War as well as in several peacekeeping missions. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Tier 6 Sabre Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle is one of the deadliest vehicles on the battlefield thanks to its rather unique upward-aimed Swingfire missile launcher that allows it to fire over obstacles or while hidden, for example behind uneven terrain. While being quite difficult to master, this ability makes it a potent ambusher, especially in skilled hands.

Challenger 1 Falcon

The Falcon is an experimental turret developed in the early 2000s in Jordan as an upgrade to the Jordanian Al-Hussein (Challenger 1) Main Battle Tanks. It's a low profile turret, armed with an automatically loaded Swiss 120mm L/50 RUAG smoothbore gun, capable of firing standard NATO ammunition. The operator controls the turret from inside the vehicle's hull, significantly improving crew protection. A prototype was built and tested, but the design was never mass-produced.

In Armored Warfare, the Challenger 1 Falcon is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank. The best word to characterize this lumbering behemoth in the game is “tough” – its excellent hull armor shrugs off most shells while the damage its low profile turret takes when it is reduced by 90% thanks to the fact the crew is not located directly in it. Despite being generally very slow and sluggish, the Challenger 1 Falcon can take tremendous punishment and is ideal for the players who prefer the British Main Battle Tank play style.

Northern Wind Loot Crate

This Loot Crate contains Northern Wind Battle Coins and Boosters.

Battle Coins are the primary currency of the Northern Wind Battle Path campaign and are used to progress through it and to obtain its prizes.
Battle Coin Boosters are usable only during an active Battle Path and increase your Battle Coin income by 900 percent for two hours.

Please note that you have to obtain the access to a Battle Path to use both items.

Also please note that you may not purchase more than 30 loot crates of one type per day.

We hope that you will enjoy the offer and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Jul 28, 2021

Maintenance - July 29

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

On the 29th of July 2021, starting from 8:00 CEST (28th of July, 11 PM PDT), the server will not be available for 5 hours due to the application of Update 0.36.8279

List of Update 0.36.8279 Changes

New PvE Missions

In this update, we are adding five new regular PvE missions, all of them taking place in the desert environment of the Suez Canal. These maps are called:

Desert Strike
Desert Saber
Desert Path
Desert Fox
Desert Viper

You can read more about them in our dedicated article.

PvE Updates

In light of introducing numerous changes to game balance in the recent updates and thus changing the balance of our PvE modes, we have taken steps to adjust the mode in general. Specifically:

We changed the composition of all PvE spawns in regular PvE missions as well as Special Operations. The amount of AI Light Tanks was somewhat reduced in favor of more AI MBTs and TDs. This change does not affect the actual amount of AI vehicles per mission, only their composition
We lowered the Tiers of AI vehicles in the Special Operations mode of Tier 6 and lower, making these missions easier for newer players

Please note that the list is not final, we continue to review PvE mode results for future updates.

Objective Window Overhaul

We have overhauled the objective window in the PvE mode. This window now not only fits the overall UI style, replacing the obsolete one, but also is more informative and features small animations to notify you of any changes.

Merc on Vacation

We’ll be launching a special free summer event in the near future, in which you’ll be able to win decals, camouflages, base paint and an epic avatar. Stay tuned for more info.

General Changes

Famine Special Operation: Fixed an issue where the convoy protection objective sometimes wouldn’t appear if players didn’t progress enough with the Warship fixing objective
Famine Special Operation: Fixed an issue where firing at the gate would produce a placeholder text in the damage table
Mechanized Infantry sounds are no longer louder than PvE character dialogues
The gas turbine engine sounds aren’t as loud anymore
Fixed an issue where bases wouldn’t appear on the Ghost Field map
Fixed an issue where the aim lock feature wouldn’t work with some targets
Fixed several smaller vehicle model issues
Fixed several smaller UI issues

Jul 28, 2021

Strv 2000 Damage Contest

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

The Northern Wind themed contest series continues and, once again, you have the opportunity to earn a copious amount of Battle Coins!

In this contest, we’ll be asking you to deal as much damage as possible while driving the Strv 2000 Tier 10 Premium MBT.

You can compete in three categories, separated by mode:

PvP (Random Battles)
GLOPS (Global Operations)
PvE (excluding Heroic Special Operations, War Games)

Post the screenshot of your result (both the detailed and regular tab) in the dedicated contest channel along with your name, category and result number. We also reserve the right to ask for a replay, so make sure you record your battle. The submission template is as such:

Category / Result / Ingame nickname

Attention – as we will be using a program to collect your results, please make absolutely sure you submit them with the template above. Submissions without this template will be ignored.

As an example, “PvP / 50000 / Johndoe” is correct, while “PvP/50 000/Johndoe” is not due to the incorrectly placed spaces.

The contest ends on August 1, 2021 (23:59 CEST) and all entries must be submitted by then.

The prizes are as follows:

The winners of each category will receive:

10.000 Battle Coins for the Northern Wind Battle Path
2.500 Gold
Scandinavian Winter camouflage
Scandinavian base paint

And don’t forget that we’re still offering another very special prize.

We are planning several of these contests in advance. The player who wins most of them (realistically, likely the player who wins more than one) will also receive the CV90120 Ghost Premium Light Tank (or 20.000 Battle Coins if he or she has it already).

Please note:

One player can only submit one result, period
All submitted results must be from the battles that take place during the event
Platoons are not allowed
Once submitted, the result must not be removed or edited in any way. Doing so will lead to instant disqualification
Armored Warfare staff reserves the right to settle any potential result disputes as they see fit and their decisions are final
The winners will be announced and the prizes will be distributed after the end of the event

Good luck and see you on the battlefield!