Aviation

The Soko J-22 Orao (Yugoslavia) and the IAR-93 Vultur (Romania) were twin-engine, subsonic ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft. Jointly developed in the 1970s, they represented the industrial and military independence of both nations from the Soviet bloc; Yugoslavia and Romania signed an agreement to share costs and engineering under the codename “Project YuRom” (Yugoslavia-Romania) with the shared objective of creating a light tactical fighter capable of replacing Soviet ground-attack aircraft and operating from short or improvised dirt runways.

While we wait for the vehicles of the next update, this is a perfect time to dig into the far corners of the hangar and take out an old War Thunder veteran that recently got a reason to make a comeback. Today we’re looking at a fairly rare and often overlooked American carrier-based fighter, the F9F-8, better known by its rather fitting name, Cougar. Let’s take off!

War Thunder has plenty of strike aircraft that rely on forward-firing guns to attack ground targets. But one of them is truly special. It is, perhaps, the most legendary aircraft ever built around a large-caliber cannon. We are talking, of course, about the German Duck, the Hs 129 B-3.

By the mid-2000s, Venezuela was looking for a new multirole platform to modernize its Fighter Air Groups. It was at this time that the Sukhoi Su-30MK2 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-G) was acquired, an aircraft that would make the Caribbean nation the sole Latin American operator of the legendary Flanker fighter family and which, for nearly two decades, has remained the country’s primary frontline air combat asset.

The Thunderbolt Mk.1 was the first variant of the P‑47D supplied to the Royal Air Force under Lend‑Lease. As one of the heaviest single‑engine fighters of the war, it introduced RAF pilots to an American design philosophy built around structural strength, high‑altitude performance, and exceptional dive capability. Its large radial engine, robust airframe, and eight .50‑calibre Browning machine guns made it a formidable fighter‑bomber capable of absorbing significant damage while delivering powerful strikes against both air and ground targets.

The French F4U-7 is hardly a new arrival, but it still deserves some attention. Its suspended armament was recently expanded, and this veteran piston fighter can now make a serious claim to being the most versatile Corsair in the game. Why this one in particular? Let’s compare.

The Yak-130 is a modern two seat Russian trainer with powerful engines and an ordnance loadout that packs a punch. Made to prepare future pilots for the complexity and maneuverability of 4th, and even 5th generation fighters, it is a real force to be reckoned with due to its high tech and supermaneuverable nature. Not only is the Yak-130 a menace in War Thunder, but this powerful trainer also has a unique history full of complications and many interesting partnerships.

The end of the Second World War gave the United States military only a brief respite. The Cold War that followed demanded no less effort, along with an enormous amount of work from engineers and military theorists. During the struggle against the Axis powers, the U.S. Air Force had refined several existing concepts and developed new ones. One of them was the penetration fighter: a fast, long-range aircraft capable of escorting strategic bombers deep into enemy territory and breaking through hostile air defenses. In essence, it was an evolution of the traditional escort-fighter concept.

The Supermarine Attacker was a fighter that emerged in the 1940s with the aim of replacing the legendary Gloster Meteor, the UK’s first jet fighter, which had already made aviation history, and simultaneously becoming the Royal Navy’s first frontline jet fighter. The Attacker failed to achieve its primary objective: the introduction of a modern, efficient single-engine jet aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and its service life was short due to poor overall performance and maintenance issues. Its history and service, spanning from 1950 to 1964, reflects the challenges of the transition to the jet age in the United Kingdom and the introduction of the first jet aircraft of the Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF). Throughout its 14 years of service, the aircraft never took part in any conflict or combat.

We often talk about versatile aircraft that feel equally capable in almost any situation. But War Thunder also has highly specialized machines built for one very specific job. Today’s aircraft is exactly that. The British Welkin F.Mk.I is neither a multirole fighter nor a master of close-range dogfights