Aviation
The Su-30MK2 AMV is an export variant of the Su-30, a twin-seat multirole combat aircraft capable of performing both air superiority missions and close air support. Based on the Su-30MK2 produced by the KnAAPO plant, this variant does not feature canards or thrust-vectoring engines. To avoid confusion with the Su-30MK2 operated by Vietnam, the Venezuelan version was designated Su-30MK2 AMV, standing for Aviación Militar Venezolana (Venezuelan Air Force). In War Thunder, the Su-30MK2 AMV is a strong option thanks to its wide selection of air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry. Although heavier than the Su-27, the aircraft retains respectable maneuverability and benefits from excellent missile payload capacity, allowing it to remain effective throughout extended engagements.
Yakolev and Lavochkin fighters were considered the Soviet Union’s main aerial hunters during World War 2. They were fast, agile, and dangerous, but only at low and medium altitudes. The MiG-3 was destined for a different role: it truly came into its own above 6 km, yet there were simply too few missions where that mattered. Only toward the end of the war did an experimental high-altitude fighter by Mikoyan and Gurevich take to the skies — the I-225.
The Vautour IIN is a twin-seater interceptor variant of the French Vautour multirole bomber aircraft, manufactured by Sud Aviation during the Cold War. While it is largely overlooked by many due to the much more commonly encountered IL-28 and Canberra family of bombers, the Vautour IIN can pose a notable threat to enemy fighters due to its high top speed, Shafrir air-to-air missiles, and powerful search radar. However, the Vautour IIN is thoroughly outclassed by more modern aircraft that it commonly faces, such as the F-106, Hunter F.58, MiG-19PT, and the F-104 Starfighter. The Vautour's poor control authority and sluggish roll rate in particular make dogfighting in it a struggle, although skilled pilots may still find ways to outsmart their enemies.
Lockheed is known for making unusual aircraft. The company's legendary creations include the F-104, the U-2, and the SR-71. Another well known plane is the F-117, the first stealth aircraft with its distinctive shape. But why and how was it designed this way? Read more in our infographic.
The P-26 Peashooter is a family of American monoplane fighters developed by Boeing during the interwar period. In War Thunder, it serves as an introduction to the USA’s aviation tech tree, where it stands out for being a monoplane fighter, rather than a biplane, contrary to what other nations have at its tier. That being said, its flight performance and armament is not too dissimilar from those biplanes, albeit with some minor differences.
From the first operational jet fighter, to bombers intended to be able to fly to America in one trip, Germany’s Luftwaffe pushed the boundaries of military aviation to its fullest extent during the Second World War. However, from the war’s beginning, the Luftwaffe's leader, Hermann Göring, had avidly believed in the power of a certain aircraft type for ridding the skies of enemy fighter opposition: the 'Zerstörer' ('Destroyer'). But what actually was this design, and how successful was it in combat?
The appearance of the Me 262 in the skies drew intense attention from military aircraft designers. The first mass-produced jet fighter proved unmistakably that the piston era was ending. Still, the Germans did not catch the Allies completely off guard: Britain and the United States were already working on their own jets. The Soviet Union tried to join the race as well, but found itself trailing. Domestic turbojets were not ready, and Soviet fighter projects existed largely on paper.
Almost all piston aircraft start a match by climbing because whoever looks down on the enemy gets to set the terms. But there are fighters and interceptors that climb so aggressively that we might jokingly call them “helicopters”. And today we’re taking the controls of exactly that kind of machine: the Japanese Ki-44 II Hei.
For a long time, carrier-based VTOL aviation remained just a dream of Soviet aircraft designers and a distant hope for the Soviet Navy. The USSR’s first production VTOL aircraft, the Yak-38 attack jet, turned out to be an overly complex and accident-prone subsonic aircraft without a full-fledged radar. But in the 1970s, naval commanders envisioned the future fleet in formations approaching the capabilities of U.S. carrier strike groups, and the Yak-38 clearly didn’t fit that vision. The Navy needed an aircraft that could secure air superiority, strike ground targets, and support amphibious landings. All of that — in a single impressive package.
In the early Cold War era, the Belgian Air Force (Force Aérienne Belge, FAB) faced the challenge of modernizing its fighter fleet to meet escalating NATO air defence demands. During the 1950s, Belgium operated subsonic fighters such as the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and the Hunter F.6, which were increasingly seen as inadequate against emerging high-speed threats. In response, NATO initiated a coordinated effort to equip several of its European members with a supersonic multi-role platform capable of both interception and tactical strike duties. Belgium opted to join this programme by selecting the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, a derivative of the original Lockheed F-104 designed with enhancements tailored for European operations.
