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Welcome to Air Superiority!

We’re ending 2023 in style with the awesome Air Superiority major update. Top-tier jets have been added to several nations, some of which include the F-15, the Su-27 and J-11, the Mirage 4000, plus the JAS39. We’ve introduced Rank VIII for ground vehicles, and subsequently new tanks: M1A2 SEP2, Leopard 2A7V, T-90M, VT-4A1, Strv 122B+ and Challenger 3 (TD)! The USA gets the brilliant USS Roanoke and a few other ships come in for other nations, while Volcano Valley is here for aircraft, set in the beautiful peninsula landscapes of Russia. The ability to use universal backups while in battle and tutorial missions for using aircraft missiles have also been added, and we’ve reworked all types of fire graphics for vehicles and burning buildings to make them look better in general.

There’s dozens of bug fixes, changes and additional new vehicles, so read on to find out what it’s all about.

Ground Vehicles: Rank VIII & several modern MBTs!

One of the main highlights of this major update is the introduction of Rank VIII for ground forces! A new rank means new vehicles of course, so you’ll be able to get your hands on the M1A2 SEP2, T-90M, Challenger 3 (TD), Leopard 2A7V, VT-4A1 and Strv 122B+! Want to research Britain and America’s new tank faster? Check out the premium M1A1 HC Click-Bait pack for the USA and the Challenger 2 (OES) for Britain. Oh, and some Rank VII vehicles have also moved up to Rank VIII for all nations — overall, there’s 11 new ground vehicles that have been added — check them out!

China

• VT-4A1

Israel

• M109A1 Roshev
• M113A1 TOW

Italy

• Tigris (Premium)

Japan

• Type 99

France

• TPK 6.41 VPC

Sweden

• Strv 122B+

Aircraft: The F-15, Su-27, Mirage 4000 and JAS39 are here to shine!

Hear the sound of an eagle? That’s the F-15 Eagle! Say hello to new top-tier jets — the awesome F-15 comes in for the USA (F-15A), Japan (F-15J), and Israel (F-15A), and the USSR gets the Su-27 and China gets the J-11 equivalent. The nimble Gripen is also here, with JAS39A for Sweden and South Africa’s JAS39C for Britain, while France gets the large and dual-engine Mirage 4000. In addition to this, the awesome AMX for Italy, a cockpit remake for the Firefly FR Mk.V, and the handy Tornado IDS WTD 61 premium pack for Germany that’s great for ground attacks. Check them out!

USA

• F-15A
• PBY-5/5a (model update for the entire line)

Germany

• Tornado IDS WTD 61 (Pack)

Great Britain

• Firefly FR Mk.V (Cockpit update)
• JAS39C

USSR

• SU-27

Japan

• F-15J

Sweden

• JAS39A

China

• J-11

Israel

• F-15A

Italy

• AMX

France

• Mirage 4000

Naval Vehicles: The Devastating USS Roanoke!

6 nations have now received interesting naval vessels each — one in particular is the USS Roanoke, which is perfect for engaging with surface targets as well as air targets. France and Italy get a Rank V premium Battleship, the Courbet and RN Leonardo da Vinci, bringing their naval premiums up to par with other nations. Britain and Japan also get an interesting ship each, but be sure to check out the full list below!

Locations & Missions: Volcano Valley!

Volcano Valley is a new location for aircraft battles. Inspired by the nature of Kamchatka which is a peninsula located at the very edge of Russia, this new map offers you beautiful scenery including erupting volcanoes and a lovely river. In addition to this, Hürtgen Forest has received some changes based on your feedback, so be sure to check both of these out and let us know what you think.

Roadmap Additions: Login through WT Mobile!

Are you currently on a high login streak but worried about losing it, perhaps you’re on vacation without a PC or your WiFi has gone down? Not to worry any longer, as one of the final Roadmap changes which is being able to login to WT Mobile to continue your login streak has been added. Simply log into WT Mobile with your Gaijin account and your login streak on the PC version of War Thunder will continue without an issue.

You can also check out the latest Roadmap news that we published earlier this week here.

New Mechanics, Fire Graphics & Awards!

We’ve now added the ability for you to activate universal backups in the respawn window while in a battle, meaning you won’t need to activate them before the battle begins. We’ve also added some sweet new achievements, including the “Peaceful Atom” one that you can get for shooting down a nuclear-bomb aircraft that hasn’t yet dropped its bomb. For buildings and vehicles, fire graphics have been reworked and look better in general. The full list of new mechanics, graphics and rewards are in the major changelog.

Training Tutorials for using Aircraft Missiles to help enhance your gameplay!

With the addition of many different types of missiles to the game, keeping up with what exactly they do, or how they work can be difficult. In this major, we’ve added Training Missions for jet aircraft that you can access through the modification window by clicking on the Test button on a missile that you’ve researched. These missions are specifically for air-to-surface missiles with manual guidance, as well as air-to-air missiles with an infrared seeker. In these missions are step-by-step instructions on what controls to use so that you can learn exactly how to fire missiles, so make sure to take advantage of this!

There’s plenty more to look through

Major updates mean many changes, and that’s exactly the case here. Some gun sounds have had a revision and sound richer, fly-past sounds have been greatly improved, a new voice narrator has been added to some top-tier Chinese aircraft, and tank crews from several nations have received new voice acting. Most importantly, there’s a huge list of bug fixes. The full list of changes is in the major changelog, so be sure to have a look to see what’s changed! That’s it for 2023 in terms of major updates for War Thunder — thank you and enjoy.

Download the update and join the battle!

FULL LIST OF CHANGES