War Thunder background
Head-Up Displays (HUD)
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As we continue to implement the impressive capabilities of modern military equipment in War Thunder, today we would like to tell you about a further development of aircraft aiming and pilot assistance systems. The HUD - a device that is an integral part of any modern military aircraft, has now been implemented in War Thunder.

What is HUD

Heads-Up Display (HUD) is located right in front of the pilot's eyes, displaying the most important information about the current condition and attitude of the aircraft or helicopter and can even show the impact points for shells, rockets or bombs, calculated by the ballistic computer.

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The marker on the HUD indicating the impact point for a rocket

Simply put, the HUD assists a pilot, providing the most vital info without the distraction of instruments, and simplifying aiming, dramatically increasing its effectiveness!

HUD in the game

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A locked target is indicated as a cross in the square.

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AGM-65A Maverick launched on the locked target.

Select aircraft will get a functioning HUD in the upcoming update, more to come soon!

In the “Ixwa Strike” update, new HUD will be presented for A-7D, AV-8A, AV-8C, Harrier GR.1, Harrier GR.3, Buccaneer S.2, F-4E Phantom II, F-4EJ Phantom II, Phantom FGR.2, Phantom FG.1, F-104G, F-104J, F-104S.

The AN/AVQ-7(V) type display system, which was installed on A-7D aircraft, was used as the basis for the implementation of HUD for aviation in Western countries. The world's first raster HUD system was the TRAM (Target Recognition Attack Multisensor), a multisensor for attack and target recognition. For the HUD in Soviet aviation we are developing a system based on the ASP-17 indication system.

The HUD in War Thunder will expand the capabilities of players who prefer to fight from a cockpit view in any battle difficulty mode. The indicator will make it possible to fully implement the use of various weapons with the integrated assistance of the ballistic computer displaying on the HUD. Except for fire assistance, the HUD will warn a player about a dangerous height in the use of weapons and provide information from the flight director. The new system will raise both the combat effectiveness of the player in battles and the visual component of flights to a new level - for example, for enthusiasts of SB mode.

Technical background.

And now we would like to get more into details of the HUD functionality in War Thunder. The HUD works in the following modes:

Main mode. Aiming mode for hitting air targets with guns and missiles.

  • Rocket and guns mode.
  • Bomb sight mode.

Rocket and guns fire on ground targets. As implemented in the AN/AVQ-7(V) head-up display

  • Switch the HUD to the "gun on ground target" or "rockets" firing mode, align and hold the target mark (diamond) and the attacked target on the ground, fire a cannon burst or a rocket salvo.

Dropping bombs

Two variants are available for bomb dropping in the HUD:

  • Dive bombing without control of the aiming mark (diamond) on the HUD. In this case, the diamond-shaped indicator shows the impact point of the bomb at the current moment of time - the same as for rockets or cannon projectiles in the “rocket” and “cannon on a ground target” modes.
  • With reticle control. In this variant, the player aligns the aiming mark (diamond) with the target in advance, directs the aircraft towards it and waits for the automatic drop of bombs.

Dive bombing, no reticle control:

  • switch HUD in the bomb dropping mode, begin diving;
  • press the button ‘deactivate aiming point’, if fixation of the target mark was activated before and the target marker was fixed on another target;
  • align the aiming mark of the target (diamond) with the target on the ground during the dive (the aiming mark appears at steep dive angles at the bottom of the HUD screen);
  • drop the bomb, keeping aiming mark (diamond) on the target;
  • pull the aircraft out of the dive into level flight.

In horizontal flight or from nose-up with fixing of the aiming mark:

  • switch HUD in the bomb dropping mode;
  • while controlling the plane, align the mouse cursor with the target on the ground;
  • fix the aiming mark of the target (diamond) by pressing the button "Activate the aiming point";
  • move into level flight or climb;
  • press and hold the bomb release button, hold the bomb drop line in the center of the HUD, maintain zero roll and slide and wait for the alignment of the drop mark and the aircraft heading indicator on the bomb drop line (bombs will be dropped automatically);
  • to reset the aiming mark to normal mode, press the button "Deactivate the aiming point".

Launching air-to-surface missiles (for example AGM-65):

  • In the "standard" mode, when an air-to-surface weapon, such as the AGM-65, is mounted on the aircraft, a mark (square with a dot) of the homing zone for the AGM-65 appears on the HUD; to capture a target, you have to align the mark with the selected target and wait for capture.
  • When capturing a target, the mark changes to a square with a cross inside. After this, the mark remains in the place of the captured target and you can launch the missile

If the altitude is critically low, HUD will warn you with a flashing red cross. Immediately stop diving and climb.

Read more:
Firebirds: Motion Blur in War Thunder
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Firebirds: Improved Mud On Ground Vehicles & Naval Effect Improvements
  • 14 November 2024
Firebirds: Improvements to Custom Tank Sights & Hit Analyzer
  • 12 November 2024
Ray Tracing in War Thunder!
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