In the second half of the 20th century, the United States focused on developing its hallmark ability to deploy a large armed force to any part of the world in a very short time. And a large armed force can’t do much without armored vehicles, so the military employed the M551 Sheridan that was lightweight, amphibious, and easy to transport. Soon, however, the perks of this unusual combat vehicle turned into flaws, and the military began to consider a replacement. Multiple propositions were introduced, from conservative remakes to modernization projects for existing tanks and IFVs to brand new and original vehicles. One of the latter was a program later codenamed ‘Rapid Deployment Force / Light Tank’, or RDF/LT for short.
On January 26th, 1788, the British flag was raised for the first time on the coast of Australia, marking the establishment of the first colony on the continent. Each of the colonies celebrated its own foundation day throughout the 19th century, but at the beginning of the 20th century, Australia was united. In 1935, January 26th was chosen as the date of the main national holiday.
Not so long ago, we talked about the French Rafale, the first War Thunder fighter jet equipped with an AESA radar. But now our game has another new aircraft with this type of radar. Please welcome the main air reward of the Winter Tales event: the Kfir C.10 with the Colombian Air Force.
Analyzing the experience received in Vietnam and other conflicts of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union arrived at similar conclusions: the fighter jet of the future needed to have excellent speed and maneuverability, a long operational range, advanced guided weapons, and a capability to complete missions at any time of day and in any weather. However, developing an ideal versatile aircraft would have an insane price tag, so both engineering schools realized that they needed to have two fighters for that purpose: one light, another one, heavy.
High-rank ground battles in War Thunder are full of all kinds of MBTs, but sometimes you want to take a break from the classics and ride something unusual and fun. Quick vehicles with autocannons arguably make for some truly fun gameplay, and we recently added just the one to our game! Please welcome a French wheeled IFV, the VBCI!
On December 21, 1964, the American tactical bomber F-111, nicknamed the ‘Aardvark,’ took to the skies for the very first time. The name ‘Aardvark’ translates to ‘earth pig,’ reflecting its distinctive design. The bomber’s story began in 1961, when the U.S. Air Force and Navy outlined requirements for a new strike aircraft. This two-seat supersonic platform needed to feature a heavy combat payload, twin engines, and a variable-sweep wing. The F-111A entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1967, replacing the Republic F-105.
The US Army joined the Korean war with a rich experience of World War 2 behind its back. The command knew perfectly well how important it was to have a mobile self-propelled howitzer on the battlefield, and the Chaffee-based M41 that they had in service provided unsatisfactory protection for its crew. Besides, the M24 chassis was on the verge of becoming obsolete.
We’ve already met one of the major air additions to the game back in 2024, so now it’s time to take another multirole fighter for a ride. Please welcome the Dassault Rafale C F3, a French fighter of generation 4.5! Its name can be translated as ‘gust of wind’, which makes this plane an even closer sibling of the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon.
High-rank aircraft are famous for being multirole and versatile. To be able to complete a variety of missions, they sometimes employ truly vast arsenals, so it’s not always easy to navigate through all their weapons and pick the best suitable options. Today we’d like to talk about the suspended arsenal of the Su-34, which by the way we extended with a new bomb a short time ago.
In the 1980s, the Swedish Air Force was quite inspired by the successful experience of its foreign counterparts, so it greenlit its own development program for a multirole combat aircraft. At the time, many planes of this class resembled a Swiss army knife, combining a bomber, a fighter, and a reconnaissance aircraft in one vehicle. Sweden wanted a versatile aircraft, too, but it had a few unique requirements of its own.