Striker
Contents
Description
The FV102 Striker is a rank VI British tank destroyer
with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.".
The Striker is a direct upgrade to the Swingfire and is better than its predecessor in almost every way, even though it has its own problems. Just as the Swingfire, the Striker's purpose is to blast the enemy out of cover by firing at them indirectly with easily controllable missiles, but it has some trouble at attacking long-range, as BAe Swingfire missiles are slower than normal ones.
Striker has a much better fire rate and bigger room for error compared to its predecessor, due to having five launchers at once, better cameras with ability to guide missiles even behind it and being more mobile, so its push-preventing powers are godlike, however, its sniper camera placement is far from ideal - it creates problems with firing downwards in front of the tank and use of the long-range scope requires exposing the vehicle to return fire, unlike with the Swingfire. Due to this, it takes a bit more dedication from its user, to use vehicle well.
General info
Survivability and armour
Much like the Swingfire, Striker is a box with sloped front, however, it has a smaller profile than the Swingfire and has more armour on the front. It still has a little amount of armour on other sides and there are fewer points where the Striker can get shot without consequences. Still, the sloped frontal armour makes it difficult to be destroyed with machine guns and even stock 30 mm autocannons, so the Striker should face the enemy's push direction, not just to make aiming easier, but to reduce the chances of being instantly destroyed, especially by light tanks. If the Striker is in a good enough cover, it's not important. Having high ground might help to negate even upgraded autocannons due to ricochets and transmission protecting the bottom of the vehicle to some extent.
The first thing to notice about the Striker is a giant missile panel on its back. It has 5 slots, which have missiles loaded in them, and so if launcher got penetrated and damaged slot had missile loaded in it, it explodes the entire rack and lights the vehicle on fire, the missile area is to light up like a firework, and will be unable to fire back. As such, try not to get hit in the missile launch area. In case the Striker gets shot at an empty tube, there is a chance the entire rack won't break in one hit and the vehicle will still be able to fire while having the option to repair it back to 100%. In case all of the ammo is spent, the launcher and rear are actually the safest places to be hit as only ammo and fuel is stored there and will otherwise be open space. Missile launcher itself can even completely absorb artillery shots, helicopter ATGM or fire from the BMP-1 cannon, protecting the Striker hull. The missile rack also covers the reserve ammo rack from planes strafing from the sky, so as long as they can't fire inside of the vehicle, the Striker should be fine. Also, since the launcher is now closer to the front of the hull, the Striker cannot fire in 10 m dead zone in front, so try to destroy the opponents before the missiles go out of control.
On its mid-left, there is a commander cupola which has a machine gun and supports secondary ATGM camera on it. Cupola has less armour than the hull and it's possible to lose both gunner and commander by being hit there, destroying the vehicle in RB. Despite that, most players tend to aim for much more imposing weapons or supposedly weak hull instead. If you can see an enemy tank in your sniper scope, this means they can see the tank's commander cupola and attack it.
The Striker is susceptible to the hull-break mechanics if hit directly to the hull by artillery, a chemical shell of calibre 105 mm (basically, any NATO medium tank with HEAT-FS or HESH) or kinetic shell of 120 mm (basically any Soviet tank and heavy tanks in general). If a track is hit by HE or HEAT, the tank has a high chance of receiving an instant hull break regardless of shell caliber. Transmission can prevent hull-break, but chances of enemy firing at the bottom of the Striker are low. As such, it is risky to stand in artillery rains, engage tanks directly, and be hit in the cupola. In fact, engaging 9.0+ tanks around destructible cover is now even more risky, as for example on the American Desert map, APDSFS rounds can penetrate houses and still hull-break the tank. As such, try to memorize all tanks that use the dangerous rounds and use solid, unpenetrable cover against them.
However, the missile launcher does not enact hull break, instead, the launcher is rendered completely broken. It is also worth noting that in Arcade Battles, the launcher sometimes does not "auto-repair" after such hit and so it must be manually repaired to be brought back to action. The issue is worsened by the fact, that malfunctioning launcher does not stop reload sequence and tank can get set on fire on a follow-up shot. This can be very confusing in Realistic Battles, and increase the chances of the enemy destroying your ammo rack. So if your missile launcher constantly "misfires" and your interface replenishes your missiles back instead of firing, and you do not see field repair timer on your screen, you would need to do a manual repair.
It is also worth noting, that players sometimes treat this vehicle like a car, and, as long as the vehicle doesn't use camouflage which makes it look dangerous (like Sicilian) and use tame ones instead (like basic desert), the enemy often fire coaxial weapons at first, doing no damage. It's recommended to avoid using wrong camouflage palette in Realistic Battle mode, and to avoid enemy snipers like Leopards in general, as they generally won't even bother firing coaxial weapon at anyone, and they treat Striker as a high-priority target, often trying to snipe it even from across the map.
For dire situations Striker is also equipped with two groups of smoke launchers. The Launchers are aerosol type as with all rank VI tanks and cover 270 degree zone in front of the Striker in 2 seconds. It is recommended to use second group of launchers only after gaining some distance between the tank and pursuers, as it allows for narrow escapes. Secondary smoke can also be used to extend the smoke wall and puzzle opponents trying to find Striker on the other side of it, while it actually escapes in the opposite direction.
Avoid letting enemy vehicles to get into ramming range, as it can render Striker useless, due to low weight and inability to fire missiles on move. If it's going to happen anyway, at least ram enemy back with its front, so your allies have more time to rescue you, at least until enemy tank reloads.
Armour type:
- Aluminium Alloy AA7017
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 25 mm (69°) | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm |
| Missile launcher | 50 mm (55°) | 50 mm | 50 mm (55°) | 0-10 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 25 mm | 12.7 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick
- Belly and hull undersides over the tracks are 12.7mm thick
- Outdoor ammo rack is 50 mm thick everywhere, except hinges that are 10 mm thick.
- The strafing plane can fire inside of the launcher, but at such attack angle, it's easier to just fire at ammo racks and crew inside of Striker instead. It is also technically possible to fire HE inside of the launcher tubes, setting missile inside of it and Striker on fire, but the weapon will not break.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 87 | 87 | 8.3 | 270 | 363 | 32.53 | 43.73 |
| Realistic | 80 | 80 | 168 | 190 | 20.24 | 22.89 | |
The mobility of the Striker is much better than that of the Swingfire, so it can actually get to capture points along with the team's push, so the Striker can assist in intercepting and destroy enemy team while rearming at the point. If fully upgraded and travelling on sealed roads, the Striker can reach a peak speed of 87/80 km/h (AB/RB). It can drive as fast in any direction, so the only issue is turning around. This is possible because Striker is much lighter than the Swingfire. Unfortunately, the lighter hull is easier for the enemy to push around, temporarily disabling the weapon and potentially ramming the Striker into a wall.
It is important to have a high level of "driving" in crew skills. The non-aced driver will get confused if you'll try to drive forward or backwards and turn at the same time, especially at gear 1. Until your crew is fully trained, use neutral steering first, only then start moving, or get to gear 4-5 and then turn around. It's also worth noting, that even if your driver is maxed out, at ~50 km/h you can only turn a little bit before you start losing your speed, so try to keep moving in a certain direction, if you try to reach maximum speed. It is important for the Striker to take mobility upgrades as soon as possible, because:
Brakes are very important in towns, as stopping one moment too late can push the Striker out of cover and now the vehicle is exposed at the mercy of medium tanks, who would most likely really hate missile launchers, or are just more than happy for an easy target. Better brakes also help in hill battles, especially when the Striker gets flanked and need to do something about it. Also, since the "Supersonic" update, the Striker can no longer fire on the move, so better brakes = less time is taken before the Striker can actually fire.
Maximum inclination and suspension upgrades allow the Striker to climb hills and mountain rocks better, and also stay on them. The Striker may have issues with controlling missiles when not staying on flat terrain, but getting a good sight on choke points is still a major benefit, as attacking position when it's raining missiles is scary, even if they don't really destroy anyone. And if accurate enough at angling missiles despite this problem, they are all doomed regardless of their numbers.
The Striker is slower than many light tanks, so unless the scouts are willing to take a hit for the Striker, there's no expectation to take cap points solo, or get there first. Improving acceleration with modifications and maintaining map awareness do play a part because despite the "Supersonic" update removing the ability to fire on move, the Striker can still fire a missile and begin moving again while guiding the missile towards an enemy. Using this method allows missiles to be fired while maintaining the best possible 'combat mobility'.
Armaments
Main armament
Slightly to the right of commander cupola, there is a main ATGM camera, the optics. Because of how the camera is placed, the Striker cannot depress the camera to fire downwards as easily as the Swingfire, which may at times result in the Striker being harder to find suitable hull-down positions for; unsuitable positions may partially reveal the vehicle or result in 'blind spots' where the optics simply do not have the ability to aim. Some of these issues, however, can be compensated for using third person view to manually guide shots at close to medium ranges. This is possible due to commander cupola housing secondary aiming device, which can turn around freely, giving the tank more control space.
On the other hand, the Striker's missiles represent a significant improvement in maneuverability; both increasing their effectiveness at close ranges (where previously the Swingfire was almost incapable of firing) and improving longer-range tracking of moving targets. When firing these at medium ranges, it's important to keep in mind the 'swing' in the missile - since they're fired at an upwards angle, the missile will correct its trajectory downwards and if it corrects itself by a significant margin, might initially over-correct. The more missile speeds up, the higher is the likelyhood of overshooting on sharp turn. Where necessary, smooth the missile's trajectory by gently guiding it from its initial firing angle to ensure it doesn't hit any raised obstacles on the way to its target.
Since missiles are launched upwards, the semi-automatic guidance system expects targets to be at least 100 metres away, so if the enemy is closer than that it's suggested to aim at the ground near to them (or even in between of you and them, if they are too close), not at the vehicles themselves, or the missiles will overshoot.
Examples of "cover busting" and dead zone duels (point cursor at the image to get an explanation):
One of your general duties as Striker is removing hull-down opponents out of their cover. Easy vertical shots like this should be the main aim of your practice at the beginning. Simply drive up to them and destroy them. The better you get at this, the fewer opponents will dare to stand near to you. Later on, you will learn to do that at long range as well.
After a while you will meet opponents who simply do not fear you, or attack you directly out of desperation. It's much better to destroy your opponents indirectly, however, you should be ready to immediately counterattack in any situation. As seen in this picture, Striker managed to immediately counterattack XM-1, and even destroyed Warrior, while at it. The key at close range duels is aiming in between yourself and opponent, then correcting the shot.
After a while, you will have to learn, how to attack enemy indirectly, by launching a missile in one direction and dragging them into another. This is necessary to attack people, who think they can hide from Striker. Play it like any vehicle in RB - look around using the camera, spot enemy, launch missile forward and drag it at their location. With a bit of practice, you will be able to hit the enemy behind rocks and walls. Then, you will learn to attack even through small gaps in between bridge beams, holes in the house's rooftops, ETC.
While it might appear that the Striker will reload all five missiles simultaneously after the rack is emptied, it actually reloads one at a time, allowing for 'continuous' fire. Do note, that reload process is split into 2 parts : "autoloader" loading a missile, which takes about 4.5 seconds and can be prevented by launching a missile, and missile activation which takes 0.65 to 0.5 seconds. The autoloader reload cannot be sped up, so try to remember about it and let autoloader load next missile before firing again, if under enemy siege.
This can lead to an advantage in Arcade battles, as the ammo can be portrayed as limitless since tubes generally reload while guiding the missiles to the target. However, full ammo rearm outside of capture point after spending all missiles in AB takes about 50 seconds, and missiles cannot be used too recklessly as it still takes at least 5 seconds to reload one launcher. While rearming, launchers still "reload", which means you can fire at will after rearm sequence is finished.
If you are rearming inside of capture point and have less than 5 missiles, then they get "reloaded" immediately, however, though rearm itself is not interrupted by Striker firing, it is longer than reload and takes about 8 to 10 seconds. Rearming inside of capture points in AB can also grant more than 1 missile if you start to rearm before using the last missile. This rearms entire ammo pool immediately, but having steady aim is still required, as it is also generally unsafe to do, as capture points rarely provide any cover by themselves. Retreating away or imposing "threatening presence" next to capture point is generally a much more viable tactic, unless trying to take a last stand against entire enemy squad.
In Realistic Battles, this advantage is less important since the Striker only has 10 shots, and if hit by a missile in the rack, it will explode all of the ammo in the launcher, leaving the Striker with even less. It also rearms only one missile per cycle on capture points in RB.
When unlocking MK2 missiles, keep in mind that while they give you an edge over heavy tanks, you can only have 30 of them per battle. Should you waste all of them, the Striker becomes useless. This is especially important in AB, because Strikers can get used to literally unlimited ammo pool and suddenly find themselves unable to fire and rearm - if you plan to live forever or going to stall enemy team rather than go and specifically hunt tanks, then you might resort to just using MK1 instead.
In short: Learn to be careful with your missiles; if you're not confident, practice the Striker's aim in AB and abstain from RB or don't use MK2 missiles until able to control the missiles properly, having a wasteful attitude to missiles and missing shots will force a constant rearming period at a control point.
| BAe Swingfire ATGM | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 10 | N/A | N/A | Two-plane | 18.65 | 18.65 | 22.64 | 25.04 | 26.64 | 0.65 | 0.57 | 0.53 | 0.50 |
| Realistic | 12.60 | 12.60 | 15.30 | 16.92 | 18.00 | ||||||||
Notes:
- Turret, in the case of Striker, is represented by cameras (optics). The faster they move, the more responsive missiles become.
- Launcher has a dead zone of 10 m in front of the vehicle. If Striker is not standing on flat terrain, then the dead-zone is extended further below vehicle (generally up to 50 m).
- Automatic guidance system has a soft dead-zone of about 100 m, which results in an inability to hit the enemy if the reticle is simply pointed at them. Point reticle into the ground near an enemy to hit or use indirect attack technique.
- Reloading only happens for one tube at a time. If the weapon is broken, then reloading is stopped to prevent potential ignition on follow-up shots. If out of ammo, the reload will still happen so when fully rearmed, all racks are ready to fire again.
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 |
| BAe Swingfire Mk.2 | ATGM | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 37.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,470 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
| BAe Swingfire Mk.2 | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 37.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,470 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
- Missiles are launched upwards with initial velocity of about 89 m/s
- Mk.1 model of the missiles, that are used on Striker, is different from ones used in the Swingfire, despite having the same name. It has better maximum velocity being 250 m/s. It also has a better turn rate, though it still has some drag, when forced to take sharp turns at high speed
- The Mk.1 and Mk.2 BAe Swingfire missiles are not different from each other in any way but penetration, which allows Mk.2 to penetrate heavy tanks at extreme angles and destroy ERA shields more efficiently. The price is, however, is that you can only have 30 of Mk.2 missiles per battle.
- ATGM can overpenetrate fuel tanks, which are often used to protect ammo racks. However it can also overpenetrate certain parts of tanks and leave them without doing any damage - be cautious and try to do direct hits exactly where it hurts
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | No |
Machine guns
Not much to be said about machine gun, as it barely does anything, so use the machine gun to remove fences, since hitting anything with the Striker slows it down considerably. Fighting planes with this machine gun is redundant, it's easier to just fire ATGM at them and hope they care enough to disengage, but it can be done in RB just to do minor damage.
| 7.62 mm L37A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,500 (100) | 650 | -5°/+25° | ±45° |
Usage in battles
- Combat tactics
Moving around: Find building, teammate, hill, or rock that is as tall as the hull of Striker, then find the enemy and destroy them using the ATGM. Use the machine gun only for destroying fences and against planes. In other words "Be sneaky and shoot at the range". In realistic battles, if you have night vision modification installed, you can use your Thermal scope to "scan" your surroundings for hostile snipers and "bush campers". This is possible even during the day.
Driving out in the open will not end well for the Striker unless the enemy has someone else to shoot. The Striker can drive around in enemy sight, but make sure that they are afraid and in cover, or at least can't fire at the Striker first before the Striker sends a missile their way. Use smokes to cover the Striker from enemy snipers while opening fire on someone else. The Striker can use the opposite side of the cover that the enemy is using, as long as the missiles can fire at them from above and the Striker isn't opened for flank shots. At that point, it doesn't matter if they know where the Striker is.
In extreme situations, the Striker can be sacrificed by driving straight to cover inside of enemy territory (preferably at the start of the match), hoping that nobody expects missile launcher of all things to drive right into "their" part of the map and ruin their plans. There are several examples of this tactic:
As the right-side team on the "Vietnam" map, the Striker cannot hope to take hold of C capture point, as the left-side team has an absurd advantage over that capture point. Even the idea of it is so unthinkable, that nobody even checks the river near to town (and even if they do, using both smoke launchers can give enough breathing space to get past them), so the Striker can dash to the river entrance of C cap point, which is exactly the size of Striker and is heavily fortified from every direction, and attempt to destroy entire enemy team right there, as it tries to leave C. Not only the chance of success is quite high, as heavily insulted enemy team will probably come straight at the Striker's position, but even if this fail, teammates can snipe remaining opponents with little to no effort as they converge onto the Striker's position here.
As the south-side team in "American Desert", A point only variant, it is possible to use the road to reach max speed and then fall off the cliff straight into the cover below, then immediately proceed to fire at the completely confused enemy team. There is a high chance of being shot mid-air or breaking the tracks due to fall damage, however, sometimes this idea is just crazy enough to work, and if they fail to stop the Striker in time, the entire enemy team is at the Striker's missile's mercy. At this point, the Striker should take out as many of them as possible, preferably pushing them back to their spawn point or even destroying them all.
Note that this rush tactic is not feasible without spaded vehicle, as it's significantly harder to hit a Striker when it is driving at 50-87 km/h, compared to 30-60, weaker suspension may stop the Striker from moving altogether after hitting any bumps on a road, weaker tracks tend to break easier, and so on. You should also remember, that you don't have to always go that far to make an effective ambush. Use your imagination and teamwork to do more damage.
Combat and teamwork: Striker excels at holding chokepoints and indirect horizontal missile fighting, so just give the enemy something to think about by firing 1-2 missiles at the corner of their cover, then use their confusion and fear to get closer and adjust missile aim, then actually blow them up. If they try something as stupid as rushing without smokes, show no mercy and fire all launchers, until they are crippled or destroyed.
Having a scout vehicle working with the team to actually mark the enemy through walls and smokes is best. Having someone to draw attention from the Striker, like a Chieftain tank, is even better, as nobody normally prioritizes the innocuous Striker, especially if next to a bunch of scarier, tanky teammates. Avoid using them as a shield at 9.3 and especially 10.0, as APDSFS, which can go through multiple tanks while doing damage, is used there very often, if not always.
In case the situation is such that the Striker must hurriedly capture the point or protect allies immediately, the Striker can dash in and use any suitable combat cover as brakes by crashing into it, then immediately fire on the enemy. Make sure to not crash with just one track, since it will break it, especially if driving above 40km/h.
In case the opponent is not in visual range, either because of how far they are, or there are simply too many of them for precise targeting, in arcade mode the Striker still can select/target the specific opponent and hold the right mouse button, or simply hold right mouse button (by default controls) as the mouse aiming is dragged near them, to activate automatic aim. This allows the Striker to semi-precisely fire missiles on the faraway enemy without manual aiming nor the gunner's scope to make a quick hull shot. This does not really help against foes that are in the automatic guidance dead zone (100 m or out of camera sight) or have cover against the missile path. It also does not help against foes which move, unless the sniper scope is manually aimed at them. You don't have such option in realistic and simulator battle, however, in RB it's much safer to use sniper scope anyway since opponents do not automatically spot you across the map there, unless they use thermal scope.
When choosing a choke point, aim for certain criteria to be flexible if trying to make a difference:
- Can this help at holding control point from here? Can the Striker destroy the enemy before they can run away?
- Is it fortified to a point it's impossible to take out the Striker without heavy losses or air support?
- Can the Striker control more than one direction from here? If not, is this the only really important capture point on the map?
- (In RB) Can the Striker rearm fast there?
- (In AB) Is retreat possible, or enemy snipers will lock down the position completely soon after your arrival?
Gallery of examples:
A Mozdok choke point. Note that the Striker can control entire front-line and can decimate anyone on B point. There is nothing enemy team can do about it, but attempt to flank the Striker through the directions also in the Striker's firing lines. The Striker can also pop smoke and escape to B, in case if they flanked the position, called air support, or the Striker simply need to rearm.
If without modifications or prefer something more fortified, choose unorthodox covers like the C choke point on Tunisia. It's hard to see it coming, the Striker can fire upon anyone trying to drive around C point, Artillery almost never fires on rocks, there are covers from planes with the mountains nearby, and there are only 2 entrances to this hideout, which are hard to even get to. However, like with all good positions for Striker, the team has to protect the right flank, as the Striker can get shot if the enemy team controls the B area or use river entrance to flank.
Alternatively, the Striker can attack capture point itself and use buildings as a shield (like this bridge). Use the missile's mobility to attack everywhere and push the enemy back. This kind of attack is very risky and reaction-based and tables can quickly turn. Immediately seek a hiding place as the enemy can pinpoint artillery onto the Striker's location.
If you know that some capture point is important, but you can't possibly get there first, you can use your speed to rush and intercept enemy from best firing angle you know. Most likely this spot will have horrible cover for your weapon, so watch out for snipers. Simply crash into nearest cover and proceed to fire onto the enemy. Anything, that restricts enemy mobility, should be noted when choosing a position.
Because BMP checked out the castle's surroundings with its improved optics, Striker could safely drive into capture point and score the first strike. Standing straight on capture point is generally unsafe, but there are exceptions. In this case, even if the position is somehow compromised, Striker still has full ammo and can break out to its iconic hiding spot on top of the castle, where it's almost invincible.
Never forget, that War Thunder is a team based game, and even if you fortify yourself in best possible sniper position in entire game, that only you can use, there is always a possibility of being attacked and destroyed by light and medium tank combo, if nobody watches your back. Do not lower your guard, when you are alone.
For those, who trust their teammates, even slight ground elevation and random tank hull can be used to stop the enemy assault. The enemy can fire at the commander's cupola, but due to elevation and basic cover it's very hard to do, and proper display of Striker's overwhelming firepower will stall the enemy team. Use manual repair and curve missiles everywhere, so the enemy has no chance of capturing the point directly.
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Sometimes, a well chosen cover can be a difference between complete defeat and victory. Direct attack on B capture point on American Desert sounds completely desperate for a normal ATGM carrier. However, one can use ATGM to damage buildings in order to create a perfect firing position for themselves. Remember, buildings that didn't collapse entirely after being hit by ATGM generally cannot be shot through by AP shells anymore.
In the case of American Desert, the ruins are often high enough to protect even missile launcher entirely, if used properly. Automatic guidance system can often aim through ruins and any tank behind them can be aimed at directly, including tanks behind other houses, as almost every cover around you is often completely destructible or does not protect well against repeated ATGM attacks from top. Even to reach the Striker at some positions, enemy has to go through 1 to 3 alleyways while being under heavy missile barrage. If necessary, in Arcade Battles an entire city block can be leveled down over time in order to increase Striker's control zone.
However, do not get too overconfident, as it is still possible to snipe the Striker through street openings, and so the positioning and map awareness is the key - building walls are often viewable through little alleyways, even from across the map. Due to this, sometimes standing in the open spot is actually safer than standing next to a wall, even if it feels more natural.
Surviving counterattack: The Striker's actions will draw attention, so expect to be bombarded by artillery almost constantly. Standing under artillery fire is a bad idea, but at some point it will be required to tough it out, hoping the blasts or shrapnel won't end the Striker. If possible, you should to get to the edge of bombardment area and then focus at stopping whatever called the artillery, as enemy tanks probably will come after the bombarded area soon enough. If just focused on the artillery, keep in mind that it has fewer chances of hitting the Striker on mountain rocks and other unorthodox types of cover, especially if close to several covers at once. However, it's harder to be protected against vehicles on unstable steep surfaces and without direct sight.
If someone is rushing towards the Striker's position, keep calm and turn as much attention as possible to the direction of assault. First disable everyone's gunner, turning your front towards them, while guiding missiles. Weak machine guns have problems with disabling the Striker's weapon system from the front, and your priority is tanks with 120 mm guns, so medium french, Soviet, Japanese and any heavy tanks are a priority. Once everyone is pacified, destroy them. Don't attempt an escape, unless, in need of some convenient temporary cover, there is no way the Striker will outrun a bunch of tanks with cannons without fighting them back first.
In case the enemy breaks the Striker's weapon, remember that Neutral steering turn on flat terrain (at 0km/h) does not prevent field repair of weapons, so simply keep turning towards enemy and hope for the best. In case you got high ground, you may resist even BMP-2's and similar autocannon fire, regardless of the rate of fire, and they rely on it too much sometimes, giving you or your teammates just enough time to destroy them before they decided to launch ATGM at you. In case if you are pinned down in your cover by multiple tanks, while your cover only protects your hull, but not weapons, you can simply keep turning your hull around to make them miss you, or turn your back towards them to not let them hit your commander cupola or to use HE, in case if they actually decide to try and hull break you.
In case only the hull can be hidden, the enemies got the weapon constantly in-field repair mode, and there is no other way out, force it into manual repairs, allowing the Striker to fire back in a desperate situation. Unlike field repair, the manual repair is not prevented by continuous attacks on the launcher, sometimes restoring the launcher to 100% right after the enemy hit. Granted, not every enemy will just stand and fire at the launcher for 14-34 seconds, and manual repair prevents you from turning around, however, that knowledge can help in expediting the enemy's destruction. The manual repair can be prevented by hitting the missiles in the rack and setting the vehicle on fire, which is likely to happen since finishing repairs causes reloading to resume, and by pushing your vehicle around, so start firing immediately.
Even when enemy destroyed Striker, you still have indirect control over missile for a few seconds. Ignore the "you were destroyed" screen and keep guiding it into them, or don't move the mouse, if you are sure it's onto them, or it will flinch.
Last stand failure: Operator failed to destroy even one of the enemy tanks with 6 shots because he panicked. After that, he tried to run to cover, exposing vehicle's side to one of the opponents and is ultimately destroyed by a third opponent, because striker cannot fire ATGM while moving, only guide them. Moral: If caught in open - fight till the bitter end.
Last stand success: Despite being severely damaged, striker managed to hide all vital points in between damaged cistern and wooden logs, minimizing chances of being obliterated by massive artillery barrage, being shot to the hull, or rammed to smithereens, and proceeded to fire at incoming enemy in cold blood, despite being alone in literal hell. Moral: even if the entire enemy team fires onto the position, as long as the player remains calm, the Striker can survive or destroy most of them before perishing.
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Overcoming dead zones and other weaknesses of a vehicle: Since Striker is unable to fire in sniper mode without exposing itself, most enemies will have to be attacked indirectly regardless of range. This may seem extremely harsh at longer ranges, however, when the turret loses direct sight on the target, but not the missile, the missiles are then controlled by movements of the turret (therefore, directly guided by the mouse, not by the targeting reticle.). While the window of opportunity is very small, BAe Swingfire missiles are very slow and mobile, they can be directed wherever necessary, as long as your camera can see it, negating sniper aim disadvantage by some extent. Regaining full control over missile will send it into a crazy spiral and/or towards the targeting reticle, so try to avoid it, unless the Striker's position is suddenly compromised.
Mostly this kind of attack is done in third-person view, as using sniper mode is way too dangerous. Sniper mode is used to aim over objects or terrain by sending missile into the sky and then very quickly aiming at the enemy tank behind a hill with your crosshairs. Success relies purely on user's ability to aim at targets they can barely see. The minimum of 800 m range is also preferable to ensure that missile will arrive at the enemy, so it works best on plains or in AB.
There is also weird glitch: When you have maxed out targeting AND aced crew, you start to see where your machine gun is pointed, by blinking crosshair. It's extremely annoying, but for some reason, it shows the true direction your missiles are going to, as long as the target is not in your dead zone. This immensely helps at close ranges and indirect duels at close range.
All of this allows the Striker to attack the enemy from extremely advantageous angles, however there is a limit to what one can do. For example, this way of firing allows Striker to attack enemy behind steep hills, but adds another problem - there are still dead zones (because of launcher's placement and turret's camera's inability to look down) and also blind spots, because it is hard to see what the missiles are heading towards (due to how camera works and the angle of missile's launch), and "directing" missile still moves the camera, usually into the ground, obscuring direct vision. To overcome this and become even stronger, activate "relative camera control" in the "control-tank-view in battle - Ground (y/x axis)". For specific settings and control explanations relate to the screenshot to the right.
Basically, this will temporarily detach the camera from the reticle by a certain degree. Be extremely careful when using this option because it makes the Striker specifically designed for close or ultra-long-range combat or battles at certain altitudes, and the camera must have a reset and apply button on hand, in case anything unexpected happens. In case everything goes wrong, the Striker still can use sniper mode, as it's unaffected by camera modifiers and will still guide missiles straight into the crosshairs.
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- Specific enemies worth noting
Other ATGM launchers: Don't fight them directly at close range, it will be foolish. Instead, bait enemy closer to cover, then just destroy them by firing over it. Another way is to just set them on fire and let them burn, there is nothing they can possibly do about it themselves.
Light tanks and SPAA: As fun as it may be to trigger them by firing all over their cover, they still can destroy the Striker easily and have enough speed and mobility to actually do that. Let them ignore the Striker and do their business, though keep an eye on them. If they try something sneaky - destroy them. If it's possible to hit them within the first two shots to trigger hull break - do it.
Soviet tanks: Aim for the hull, as it usually destroys or immobilizes them. Aiming for right (their left) side is taking out the gunner and is generally better for self-defense, however a direct hit on left side (their right) will likely overpenetrate fuel tanks and ignite their ammo rack. They are also more dangerous than German ones, so prioritize them over others.
MBTs with autocannon coaxial (mainly French): They can penetrate your commander cupola and sides with their coaxial weapon from any angle at 100 m, so try to not expose them, without exposing the front of the hull, so they have something to fire at and don't get any better ideas. Spending your ammo fast makes side shots less lethal since coaxial autocannons seem to not have explosive filler, and if they don't hit your crew or ammo directly, the damage is minimal.
Helicopters: In case the Striker provokes half of the enemy team and didn't succumb to artillery, they will probably send one of these flying birds directly at the Striker's location. If they have ATGM, immediately hide behind some tall cover and fire back with a missile. If they are too far away, there is not much the Striker can do and if actually targeted should try to empty their launcher and turtle up using launcher as a shield to protect the fragile hull from ATGM. Rockets can destroy the Striker as well if the pilot manages to carpet-bomb the position, so helicopters should be prioritized as a target and a threat.
Attack planes: While bombers generally approach their targets directly, can be shot down with ATGM, and their bombs generally make enough noise to notice them and dodge, attackers at 8.3+ are extremely fast, manoeuvrable and can suddenly carpet-bomb your vehicle with rockets more than once. Do not show them the sides of the Striker, and try to not let them fire rockets precisely from the top, by hiding in smokes.
9.7-10.7 tanks: If you took the Striker to endgame battle, make sure you never get hit. One hit, even by default ammo, can break the missile launcher almost 100% of the times. Avoid being sniped at all costs, as even a glancing hit to commander cupola might explode entire vehicle. Also avoid driving next to your teammates, since almost everyone uses APDSFS at that point, and those shells can penetrate straight through teammates and hit you. Take notes on which tanks have ERA and NERA armour. For example, around 10.0 M1 Abrams and IPM1 have so much NERA that attacking them with missiles from the front is extremely hard and time-consuming (Though their hull sides are still weak), and the Challenger Mk.3 has enough ERA to survive 2 critical hits. But in Realistic battles, these two classes of tanks are your allies, and rest of nations generally have NERA only in the turret, while some factions have not even nearly enough to stop direct hit, so even limited ammo is not that much of an issue. Because of that, you can often indirectly attack enemy hull to destroy most opponents 1-2 hits, you still can break one track and finish them off with quick follow-up side shot, as they topple over, you can even try to hit their turret or engines from top to set them on fire. When going to 10.7 , consider that while MK.2 missiles aren't tandem, like in case of Shturm-S, they prove effective enough to destroy T-80U, which on practice cannot be destroyed completely with MK.1 . It's also worth noting, that many players try to skip 8.0-9.0 really fast and either don't know what to do with you or just don't understand what NERA does, so they may be extremely startled or scared and avoid attacking you directly after you destroyed or heavily damaged their party.
- Counter-tactics
Don't attack the enemy's position without artillery support and smoke screens. If Striker is using a single fortified position and can't move, an option is to fire smoke shells at it to not only protect oneself but blind it all together. (just make sure they don't have friendly scout vehicles around, otherwise, there is a chance they will be able to guide missiles towards a covered position.)
If it only exposes its missile racks, fire at it, preferably with explosives (HE might outright hull break it), APDSFS, or 30 mm autocannons with at least 80 mm of penetration. Usually, the tubes on your right (their left) fire first and are already empty, so initially aim for the left (their right) to set them on fire. After breaking weapons, destroy the hull. The front of Striker may be surprisingly resistant to machine gun fire, however, if in possession of high calibre machine guns, move around Striker and penetrate its back or sides with them. If you have autocannons as a coaxial weapon (which are ~23 mm and insufficient to damage launchers), attempt to damage commander's cupola, which has much worse protection.
7.62 calibre machine gun does nothing to it even point-blank, so do not use those on it. Fire them at its missiles instead.
If attacks didn't set Striker on fire, it will be about 9 seconds before the Striker repaired the launcher back. Firing at launcher again will reset the "field repair" timer, so take some time after a successive hit. Try firing at different tubes, if need be, it may set the vehicle on fire if actual ammo is hit. Pushing vehicle around also resets the repair timer.
It has problems firing at the opposite side of the same hill if it's too steep. It will not help destroy a Striker, but at least the location is somewhat safe until they found a proper firing angle.
In case if you absolutely have to attack it directly, you can at least try to stop its ATGM with MG suppressive fire, but a good enough bullet screen will take at least 4 7.62 mm MG at once, there are no guarantees it will work, and, if it has high ground, it still can launch them at such angle, that you will be unable to do anything.
It's best to attack from many directions at the same time, preferably from behind. Even better if the operator didn't see it coming. Sniping and terrain-based flank are working better in arcade battle, since there they only have vision in front of their driver and in direction they point camera at, but at great range, while sneak attacks from any direction are more reliable in realistic battle, though they themselves are much harder to notice in time. Use of thermal scope is recommended in order to find it or its missiles. If you just have numbers on your side, and your team is more or less cooperative, even the Striker can be overwhelmed. A coordinated simultaneous push of 6 tanks can destroy it, albeit at a high cost. Do not attack it one by one - that is exactly what they want, as it gives them time to reload in between shots.
Don't forget that it can fire from any sort of cover. Aside from already mentioned steep hills, its firing potential is only limited by the operator's skill, as Striker is better at leading missiles behind itself than any other tank.
Keep missile launcher destroyed if unable to hit its commander cupola reliably before it fires the missiles. However, remember, that it does not have hull-break on a missile launcher. The only real way to destroy it is to attack the hull somehow or to set it on fire.
The SPAA's with absurdly high fire rate, like Vulcan and Shilka can fire at Striker's transmission or sides and destroy vehicle without even aiming. Problem is, it's unlikely that Striker will just let them drive up to itself, and these SPAA cannot defend themselves against other tanks at all, so chances of this ever happening are very slim.
Since "Supersonic" update it must stop before firing, so if surprising one - destroy it before it hit the brakes, make them panic and try to push the vehicle around, ultimately dragging them into a wall. If the vehicle profile is low enough, a blind spot could be created and force the Striker to attempt a miracle shot, which is inaccurate and will not work, unless there is enough room for a missile to turn around. This provides an opportunity to take a free direct shot at the crew compartment. One can even use disabled Striker as a shield against their own teammates.
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | ||
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | BAe Swingfire Mk.2 |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Smoke grenade | |
| IV | Transmission | Engine | NVD | |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Can drive in any direction fast, even on stock modules, sometimes matching track based light tank speed when spaded, allowing it to get to the critical map spots just in time, or to retreat faster than most alternatives
- Has five ATGMs in the rack, meaning that the Striker can make five fast shots without reloading and it often manages to reload before next shot when fighting at medium range, meaning that it is almost always ready to fight off entire enemy squads, unlike most tanks
- Can fire in and out of covers like artillery, but is more precise and every shot can be fatal, if given enough practice. Can also turn and guide missiles behind itself, unlike Swingfire and most of other turretless tanks, making it unexpectedly dangerous in any position
- Receives next to infinite amount of Mk.1 ammunition on capture points, because it can quickly rearm. infinite Mk.1 ammo in AB overall, assuming its user manages to hold the line; allowing Striker to hold off almost any kind of siege indefinitely, unlike ATGM tanks with longer rearms, like Shturm-S
- Has two hull mounted smokescreens unlike most of early rank VI tanks and they are unlocked earlier. They are also aerosol, which means that the smoke will set in just two seconds, giving the Striker additional advantage over any rank V tanks
- No hull break on the missile launcher, allowing the tank to stall for time better than some heavy tanks, even though it's vulnerable to HE
- Enemy often underestimate Strikers frontal armour and neutral steering and sometimes try to destroy it with less powerful coaxial weapons at first, giving it time to repair and/or fire back
Cons:
- Side armour is lacking and can be easily penetrated by heavy machine guns of 12.7 mm calibre and any weapon larger than a 12.7 mm machine gun can snipe it from afar
- Strikers weapons are a tall target and its guiding devices are located way below its weapon system and on level with its hull. While the hull itself is mostly hidden from enemy fire, it is practically impossible to fire at long range without exposing the weapon and commander cupola or using third-person view, making it an easy target for HE and patient APFSDS users, somewhat similarly to Khrizantema-S
- Due to all this, despite Striker being extremely dangerous at all times it is one of the only ATGM tanks which can be easily neutralized by breaking their missile rack at a critical moment, because destroying the rack of Striker disables all five launchers and renders it helpless. Setting any loaded missile on fire also destroys all of them, forcing it to also reload or even rearm after repair
- Reload is very quick, but the tank can only reload launchers when not firing via "autoloader rearm" and only one by one, meaning that there is a way to overwhelm it in close quarters
- Low ammo capacity with 10 ATGMs in RB, and in AB it still needs to rearm for a while after 10 shots, requiring user to be mindful of their tactic, aim and overall map situation
- While Mk.2 missiles allow Striker to directly fight ERA and NERA equipped tanks of 9.0+, and maybe even to defeat rank VII tanks, it can only have 30 of them per battle and most of such targets require at least two Mk.2 shots to take them out, severely limiting the amount of tanks it can destroy per battle with them
- Vulnerable to ramming in direct combat due to its low weight, rendering it unable to protect itself against very agressive tankers, as it is unable to fire on move.
- Using Striker too well draws attention and may cause massive attacks of all kinds on its position, including endless artillery barrages, which can one-shot it on a good hit
History
The FV102 Striker was an anti-tank wire-guided missile carrier which belonged to the CVR(T) family, developed for the British Army during the Cold War. The Striker had five missile launcher boxes and carried a total of 10 Swingfire missiles (5 in the launchers and 5 reloads). It weighed around 8.3t and was powered by the Cummings BTA 5.9-litre diesel engine which could output 190 hp. Its top speed was 81 km/h (50 mph) forwards and backwards.
Development
The Striker was first developed in 1975 for the British Army. The chassis was produced in the West Midlands, England and other components were sourced from other suppliers. Fairey Engineering manufactured the missiles and so did the British Aircraft Corporation, the missiles were launched by the launcher at the back and had a range of 4,000 m, the commander could correct the trajectory if it was necessary. However, it had to be reloaded manually from the outside. It was also equipped with a 7.62 mm L37A1 machine gun (2,500 rounds). It was first powered by the Jaguar 4.2-litre petrol engine (standard car engine) and later replaced by the Cummings BTA 5.9-litre diesel engine. It consisted of 3 crew, the gunner who sat on the right side, commander and driver who sat on the left side (the driver sat next to the engine). The front armour was 25 mm thick while the side and back were 12 mm thick.
Service
The Striker first entered service in 1976 with the Royal Artillery of the BAOR but was later transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. It saw combat in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom in 2003 where it managed to destroy an Iraqi T-55. The FV102 Striker ended service in 2005 with the introduction of the Javelin missile which replaced the Swingfire missile.
Media
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Britain tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Infantry tank derivatives | Archer · Gun Carrier (3-in) |
| Light tank derivatives | Alecto I |
| M10 Achilles | Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.) |
| Centurion derivatives | FV4005 · Conway |
| ATGM | Swingfire · Striker |
| Other | Tortoise · ▄M109A1 |
| Canada | QF 3.7 Ram |
| South Africa | G6 · ZT3A2 |
