Aviation
The Cold War was a unique period of world history. The fierce confrontation between the USSR and the USA led to the birth of many unique aircraft used in specialized missions, one of which was the high-altitude supersonic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force, SR-71, nicknamed the Blackbird. This aircraft, created in the '60s, was practically invulnerable to interception by both ground and air defense systems as it could develop an outstanding speed of over Mach 3.0 at an altitude of over 22,000 meters.
The Kyushu J7W1 Shinden (meaning "Magnificent Lightning") was the only canard-configured aircraft ordered for mass production during World War II, and it was one of the most unique aircraft designs to come out of Japan. The concept for this distinctive configuration originated with Captain Masaoki Tsuruno of the Japanese Navy's Technical Staff. Captain Tsuruno envisioned replacing the rear-mounted radial engine driving a six-blade propeller with a turbojet engine.
The Soviet Union has always had inferior carrier-based aircraft compared to the West. While the United States used all the might of its aircraft carriers in World War 2 and Vietnam and the United Kingdom showcased theirs during the Falklands War, the Soviet Union was still busy rebuilding its fleet to fit its new doctrines.
In 1943, the Japanese recognized an imminent threat on the horizon: the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Development of this powerful bomber had begun in 1939, and the Japanese were certain it would eventually be deployed against their homeland. However, they faced a significant challenge—they lacked an effective way to counter the B-29 and feared they wouldn’t have a solution ready in time. The answer to this problem came in the form of one of the most innovative interceptors ever to see operational use.
The Storm Warning update brings the roar of jet turbines, and with them, several new high-rank aircraft! And a special role among them is reserved for a couple of multirole European fighters that look a lot like twins. Please welcome the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon, a fighter that made its maiden flight in 1994 and is still in production. In War Thunder, this plane is the new top for the aircraft tech trees of Germany, Italy, and Great Britain!
The 1950s were a groundbreaking period in aviation history. By the late 1940s, pilots had transitioned from propeller-driven aircraft to jets, and the sound barrier had just been broken. Yet engineers were already working on a new generation of aircraft that would make even the most recent designs look obsolete.
The Kawanishi H8K flying boat, developed under the Navy Experimental 13-Shi Large Flying Boat specification, was a remarkable achievement of Japanese aeronautical engineering during World War II. It was intended to surpass the capabilities of earlier models like the Navy Type 97 Flying Boat, as well as contemporary Allied designs like the Short Sunderland and Sikorsky XPBS-1.
The Kfir Canard is an Israeli modification of the French Dassault Mirage 5, with a new General Electric J79 engine (the same found on the F-4E Phantom II), canards bolted onto the fuselage, and other changes including new avionics. In War Thunder, the Kfir Canard is one of the best-performing planes in terms of its flight characteristics, relying on its excellent flight performance to defeat opponents.
The Israeli F-15I Ra'am, meaning "Thunder of god" in Hebrew, is to this day the go-to plane for the Israeli air force, ever since 1998. It was developed from the American F-15E Strike Eagle, found in the US tech tree. They are extremely similar, and function practically identically in-game.
