Towards the end of WWII, multiple captured German prototype jet bombers found their way into Soviet hands, and were quickly analysed and reverse-engineered. One of the first successful production jet bombers to incorporate the technologies learned from these planes was the new IL-28 bomber, which would go on to become one of the staples of air forces of the Eastern Bloc during the '50s and '60s. One such operator was the East German Air Force (NVA Luftstreitkräfte), who used 13 of the type (12 IL-28 and a single IL-28U trainer) between 1954 and 1982, not as a bomber, but rather primarily for target tug and engine testing duties as East German bomber wings were normally outfitted with different, faster, shorter ranged aircraft at the time.

Introduced in Update "Raining Fire", the German IL-28 is completely identical to its Soviet brother, and as such it should be played the same. The aircraft fills the role of the "fast frontline bomber" previously taken by aircraft such as the Do-217 and Arado 234, focusing on interdicting the enemy airspace quickly, striking a single target precisely, and leaving before the fighters can scramble. In-game, it finds itself at an advantage when doing this at its battle rating, due to its generous airspawn and powerful tail gunners. All in all, the IL-28 teaches players of the German tech tree the playstyle of high speed interdiction and strike bombing, preparing them for future aircraft in this line such as the following MiG-23BN.