ITO 90M, SAM, France, Sweden, rank VII

Pros

• Devastating VT-1 missiles
• Radar and thermal imaging
• 8 ready to launch missiles

Cons

• Poor protection
• Large profile
• Lackluster mobility

In War Thunder,  the ITO 90M will be a new SAM vehicle arriving in the top rank of the French and Swedish ground forces trees with the release of the next major update, Red Skies. Equipped with the Crotale NG launcher and firing the deadly VT-1 surface-to-air missile which some unlucky pilots may already had the misfortune of encountering in battle, the ITO 90M is destined to soon make the skies a lot safer for its allies on the ground with its arrival as part of the upcoming update!

As already mentioned, the ITO 90M is equipped with the French Crotale NG missile complex, which exclusively uses the highly capable VT-1 SAM’s already familiar to some tankers from the FlaRakRad, introduced in a previous update. Unlike its German counterpart however, the ITO 90M features a twin quadruple missile launcher and only carries the eight missiles already loaded in the launcher. Although this means that tankers won’t have the ability to independently reload their weapon during combat, the high effectiveness of the VT-1 missiles should ensure that commanders of this machine will have the chance to down a number of hostile airborne targets before running out of ammunition!

Being a wheeled vehicle, the ITO 90M may give off the impression of possessing excellent mobility. In this case however, the first impression may be a bit deceiving. Although the ITO 90M is capable of achieving a top speed of 95 km/h on roads, its average top speed in off-road conditions is reduced by more than half. This is mainly due to the ITO 90M’s rather lackluster 236 horsepower diesel engine, resulting in a rather poor 10 hp/t power-to-weight ratio at a combat weight of 23.5 tons.

The vehicle’s armour is suitable for protecting the crew and modules from shrapnel and rifle calibre ammunition, while direct hits from even heavy machine gun and autocannon fire will almost certainly cause damage. Aside from very light protection, the ITO 90M - thanks to the Crotale NG missile launcher fitted on top of its hull - possesses a very large profile, especially with its radar dish extended. As such, tankers would be ill-advised to take the ITO 90M to the front lines, but should instead focus on positioning themselves more in the rear, away from the heat of combat and ensure a good coverage of the surrounding airspace.

The ITO 90M is coming to the top rank of the French and Swedish ground forces tree with the arrival of the next major War Thunder Red Skies. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news as we continue unveiling more interesting features awaiting all players in the upcoming update. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

You can greatly speed up the research on this vehicle with: