By the late 1930s, Germany had built up a sizable fleet of bombers, but technology was rapidly advancing, and the aircraft rolling off production lines were starting to fall behind the times. Engineers at Junkers had been toying with the idea of a next-generation bomber that could meet these new challenges, but real progress only came with the launch of the ambitious Bomber B competition in mid-1939. The goal was to develop a fast, modern bomber to replace the aging Ju 88 and Do 17.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia found itself in possession of an incredible number of tanks. Thousands of T-72s in various modifications and conditions comprised the backbone of the nation’s tank forces in the early 1990s. However, even when the T-72B was created, its fire control system could be considered outdated, and with years, its combat performance began to lag behind contemporary requirements. An incredible number of machines urgently required a thorough modernization. The blooming economic crisis forced the military to be extra cautious about the price to quality balance.
Each major update adds new squadron vehicles to the roster, and the Leviathans is no exception. Today we’re going to take off on the first Danish Air Force aircraft in War Thunder! And its name is the F-35 Light... No, wait, this is the wrong script. Today’s highlight is the F-35 Draken, also known as the Saab J35 in its native Sweden. Let’s see what the Danish version of the famous Dragon is capable of.
In the early stages of the Cold War, jet aviation was making extraordinary progress. In only a decade, engineering teams across the world switched from making clumsy jet turbines slapped onto former props to complex, expensive, and very fast planes. Even the sound barrier became surmountable. Still, there were missions that could be completed by simpler, less refined machines. Besides, training the new generation of pilots demanded jets with simplified controls. At the same time, it became clear that some of the requirements for trainers and strike aircraft intersected. The idea to create a single combat trainer aircraft was in the air, so multiple nations tried their hands at making them, resulting in the Swedish Saab 105, the British Strikemaster, the Franco-German Alpha Jet, and many others. The Czechoslovakian L-39 Albatros was one of the most popular combat trainers among the Warsaw Pact countries.
War Thunder players have long known the AMX-30 and Leclerc families of French MBTs. They’re confident competitors to vehicles of other nations at their battle ratings, but for a long time, there’s been a gap between these two groups of tanks. The Leviathans update brings a new MBT to the French tech tree that can fix this. And its name is the Mulet Système Complet, or MSC for short. As you might’ve already guessed, it’s a Leclerc prototype. This machine will be a worthy opponent to early Abrams and Leopard 2A4 tanks.
The Leviathans update brings unique anti-air systems to the game: the American CLAWS, the German IRIS-T SLM, and the Japanese Tan-SAM kai. Each of them includes a single target designation and detection system, or simply TADS, and two launcher units. Today we’d like to talk about all the unique features of multi-vehicle SAMs and answer some questions you might have about them.
The Leviathans update brings quite a number of interesting vehicles, but there’s one that seems to generate some extra excitement among our players. Japan’s tech tree is being reinforced with a new domestically produced top fighter. And this fighter is the Mitsubishi F-2A, also known as the Viper Zero!
When it first saw the light of day, the Jagdtiger tank destroyer was truly a sight to behold. Combining a monstrous cannon and fantastic armor, it was an Ally tanker’s worst nightmare. But no matter how impressive this level of firepower looked, it couldn’t save Germany from defeat.
If you’ve ever opened the Custom Battle menu, you’ve probably seen a number of user missions started by other players. They’re mostly there for fun, but some missions can be useful for improving your skills! You can find them on the WarThunder Live website, and today we’d like to share some of the best works found there!