🔥Battle Pass Vehicles: SB2C-5 (Thailand)

Meet the American Helldiver dive bomber in service with the Royal Thai Air Force, joining the game as the aircraft reward in The Last Legionnaire Battle Pass season!

🇹🇭🇯🇵SB2C-5: A Premium Dive Bomber for Japan at Rank III

At a glance:
▪️Excellent range of bombs.
▪️Decent maneuverability.
▪️20 mm offensive guns.
▪️Air brake.

👋Introducing the SB2C-5!
In The Last Legionnaire, a brand-new Battle Pass season, you’ll have the opportunity to get the excellent SB2C-5 premium dive bomber, well known to you if you’ve played the US or French aviation tree. This aircraft is an invaluable assistant in Ground Battles and a classic in War Thunder Air Battles, so let’s take a look!

⚔️Battle Pass Vehicles: M46 Patton (France)

Meet the M46 Patton that saw service with France! Today, we’ll take a look at the main reward for the next Battle Pass, The Last Legionnaire!

🇫🇷M46 Patton: A Premium Medium Tank for France at Rank IV

At a glance:
▪️Strong HEATFS and APHE shells.
▪️Good protection at the front of the turret.
▪️Effective mobility.

👋Introducing the M46 Patton!
The premium M46 Patton is joining France as the main tank reward in The Last Legionnaire Battle Pass season! This tank is exceptionally versatile, allowing it to be used in any role during battle and will also make for an excellent addition to several French lineups, helping to add some variety and speed up research due to its premium status. Let’s take a closer look!

🐍Enter the Serpent: FV4030/3

This is the FV4030/3, designed as an upgrade of the Chieftain tank for Iran. However with no deliveries fulfilled, the FV4030/3 later evolved into the Challenger 1 tank we all know and love.

🇬🇧FV4030/3 Shir 2: An Event Vehicle MBT for Great Britain at Rank VI

At a glance:
▪️120 mm gun with the L23 APFSDS shell.
▪️1200 HP engine.
▪️Chobham composite armor.
▪️Lacking thermals.

👋Introducing the FV4030/3 Shir 2!
Meet the FV4030/3, obtainable in the Enter the Serpent event. What is this tank exactly? Functionally it can be seen as a heavily upgraded Chieftain tank, but with a brand-new turret and hull, specifically designed for Iran. However, with the collapse of the Iran Government in 1979, no orders were taken, which led to the FV4030/3 being developed into the Challenger 1 for the British Army instead. Let’s take a closer look!

➡️Click here to find out more details about the Enter the Serpent event

⚔️Meet The Last Legionnaire, the 18th Season of the Battle Pass!

The new Battle Pass season celebrates the French Foreign Legion, a military unit made up mostly of foreigners. This season’s top reward is the M46 Patton medium tank — Pattons were the last foreign tanks used by France, hence the name of The Last Legionnaire!

To receive Battle Pass rewards, you’ll need to regularly log into the game and complete tasks and challenges to progress. Each level of the Battle Pass will earn you a reward, be it a player icon, loading screen, title, decals, decorations, or premium vehicles!

❗️Please note: We’ve created a trophy for premium vehicles that includes three Battle Pass rewards from previous seasons that were not available on the marketplace, as well as one event vehicle. Opening this trophy will guarantee you either the Type T-51a, Voroshilov, LVT-4/40 or Type K-8 No.13i, if you don’t have them currently. If you have them all, you’ll receive Silver Lions and a “Collector Golden Battles Wager” instead.

➡️About Battle Pass

🛠It’s fixed! №101

Today, we’ve rounded up and will be going over some of the bug fixes and improvements that we’ve made to the game today and over the past few weeks. If you’d like to catch up on every fixed bug, then be sure to check out the changelog section on our website.

If you’ve found a bug that you’d like to report, you can do so on our community bug reporting platform.

You’ll find the full list of improvements in separate patchnotes. In the “Favorite Vehicles” showcase you can now select a mode, the landscape no longer leaves too “harsh” shadows on the water, and the mechanics of volumetric shells now work again in regular battles!

➡️Update 2.43.0.50
➡️Update 2.43.0.60
➡️Update 2.43.0.63
➡️Update 2.43.0.68

🛠Server Update 23.01.2025

Matchmaking
▪️In Naval Battles, the rules for creating game sessions (matchmaking) have been changed:

▪️The minimum number of players required to start a session has been reduced.
▪️The number of ships controlled by AI (system named bots) in sessions of all Battle Ratings has been increased to the maximum (32).
▪️The time during which players can join an ongoing battle has been increased (if the corresponding setting is enabled).

▪️These changes are aimed at creating battles faster, even with a small number of players in the queue. At the same time, the maximum team size remains unchanged (equal to 16). So if there are enough players in the queue, they can get into the same battle, which in this case will be held in the format of “16 players vs. 16 players” without the addition of AI-controlled ships.

Other
▪️Battle tasks that need different interactions with enemy players to be completed (for example, destruction or damage) can now be completed against system named bots as well.

✈️The Su-7BMK Temporarily Returns at a Discount for the Anniversary of the Su-7B Entering Service!

The Su-7B, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, was accepted into service on January 24th 1961. It received many modifications and was used by Warsaw Pact countries, North Korea, India, Afghanistan, Algeria, Syria, Egypt and Iraq, participating in various conflicts in the 1960s-1980s.

The Su-7BMK is temporarily available at a discount for Golden Eagles!

🏪This premium strike aircraft can be purchased at a 30% discount for 6,363 Golden Eagles.
When: From today until January 27th (11:00 GMT).
Where: USSR > Aviation > Premium vehicles.

About this aircraft
▪️The Su-7BMK is one of the most modern modifications of the Su-7B. It’s durable, accelerates quickly, can reach a top speed of nearly 2,300 km/h and is armed with a pair of 30 mm NR-30 cannons that can take out aircraft and light vehicles. For ground vehicles and bases, you’ll find a wide range of bombs and rockets!

🇦🇺Moments of Valor: Australia

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.

In honor of this holiday, we’re continuing our “Moments of Valor” video series, this time dedicated to the armed forces of Australia. We’re also offering some premium vehicles in a special pack with a discount in the Gaijin.net store, plus some Australian camouflages that can be purchased for Golden Eagles if you have the vehicles, created by players on the War Thunder Live portal!

🛍Moments of Valor: Australia Pack

The Kit Includes:
🔹Boomerang Mk.I (Great Britain, rank II)
🔹Boomerang Mk.II (Great Britain, rank II) and The Grim Reaper camouflage of No.4 Squadron, RAAF by Aotea*.
🔹Wirraway (Great Britain, rank I) and the camouflage of No.1 Advanced Flying Training School, RAAF by Aotea*.
🔹Plagis’ Spitfire LF Mk.IXc (Great Britain, rank IV) and the camouflage of Captain Clive Caldwell (the highest scoring ace in the RAAF in WWII) by Aotea*.
🔹Catalina Mk. IIIa (Great Britain, rank I) and a camouflage of serial number A24-64, The Dabster of No. 43 Squadron, RAAF by Aotea*.
🔹Grant Mk I (USA, rank II) and the camouflage of the 1st Armoured Division of the Australian Armed Forces by Metronoonm*.
🔹A.C.IV. (Great Britain, rank III)
🔹“Per Ardua Ad Astra” title
🔹Unique portrait “Corporal Skippy”

➡️STORE

⭐️Additionally until February 3rd, you can separately purchase the F-4EJ Phantom II ADTW pack with a 50% discount and receive the camouflage of No.1 Squadron, RAAF by Aotea* as a gift! And for Golden Eagles, you can get a camouflage for the Leopard A1A1 as the 1st Armoured Regiment, 1st Brigade, Australian Army* by Badass_Jellykin!

* these camouflages can also be obtained if you already own the respective vehicles and play 3 battles in each of them from today until February 3rd (11:00 GMT). The camouflages can also be purchased separately for Golden Eagles during and after the event.

🛍Discounts on Australian vehicles!
Each vehicle in the Moments of Valor: Australia pack can be purchased separately at a 50% discount! This means that Plagis’ Spitfire LF Mk.IXc and the Boomerang Mk.II are temporarily available to purchase with Golden Eagles during the event. Please note: the Boomerang Mk. II can only be purchased if you already own the Boomerang Mk.I.

🦘Get the “Australia Day 2025” decal!

When: From today until February 3rd (11:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using British vehicles at rank III or above to receive the “Australia Day 2025” decal!

🐸Wednesday, it's Wednesday!

🐍The Snake Box

The New Lunar Year is coming! The wise snake has created a magic box containing ancient artifacts. What commanders fought for in the past, you can obtain with a handful of silver — may luck smile upon you!

🏪The “Snake Box” can be purchased from the in-game Item Shop for Silver Lions from January 29th (11:00 GMT) until February 28th (11:00 GMT).

This box is available to players who have at least one researchable vehicle at rank II or higher on their account.

🎁What’s in the box?
The Snake Box contains vehicles and camouflages, decals and decorations, player icons and loading screens from past game events such as Chronicles of World War II and Pages of History, World War and May events, as well as War Thunder birthdays. Plus useful consumables including boosters, universal backups, wagers and orders. Some items from past events have been included for the first time as coupons, meaning you’ll be able to sell them on the Market!

❗️The Snake Box costs 60,000 Silver Lions. On February 28th at 11:00 GMT, all Snake Boxes will disappear from your inventory, so be sure to open them before then!

➡️LEARN MORE

🏮Welcome to the Year of the Snake!🏮

January 29th marks the Lunar New Year, and we at War Thunder have traditionally prepared a ton of activities and discounts for you to celebrate it properly!

🛍Gaijin.net Store discounts in honor of the Lunar New Year!

➡️ “Snake Charmer” Bundle -50%
➡️ “Serpent Rising” Bundle -50%
➡️Lunar Sale 2025

Players on all platforms who already own the A-5C and ZTZ96A (P) can earn the “Snake Charmer” title and the “Beauty rat snake” decal by playing 3 battles with either vehicle before February 5th.

Players on all platforms who already own the Al-Khalid and J-7D can earn the “Serpent Rising” title and the “Horned pit viper” decal by playing 3 battles with either vehicle before February 5th.

Note! This offer is valid for PC, Mac and Linux users only. PlayStation and Xbox users will be able to purchase the “Snake Charmer” Bundle and the “Serpent Rising” Bundle in their respective stores.

⭐️Earn the “Red envelope” decal!

🏪When: From today until February 5th (11:00 GMT).
Task: Play 3 battles using Chinese vehicles to receive the “Red envelope” decal!

🔜LEARN MORE

📜Pages of History (February): The Big Chief

In this month’s Pages of History, you’ll be at the center of events that took place in different theaters of war. The Philippines and Burma, the Strait of Dover and the Ruhr River: take part in battles with the vehicles corresponding to these historic battles and receive prizes.

🏪From February 1st until February 28th, you’ll be offered 8 tasks consecutively. Completing each will reward you with a trophy, and completing all of them will earn you a unique player icon!

👨🏻‍🦰Douglas MacArthur
is among the most renowned American military generals. During World War I, he achieved the rank of Brigadier General, and in 1925 at just 44 years old, he became the youngest major general in the U.S. Army before serving as Army Chief of Staff. In World War II, MacArthur commanded U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, leading successful counteroffensives in Papua, New Guinea, and the Philippines. He later accepted Japan’s surrender and was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.

You can immediately purchase this profile icon for Golden Eagles until March 3rd, 11:30 GMT without completing tasks. To find it, go to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.

🎁Trophy reward for each task

Completing each individual task will give you a trophy with one of the following rewards:
▪️20-50% RP booster for 3-10 battles;
▪️20-50% SL booster for 3-10 battles;
▪️3-5 universal backups;
▪️Premium account for 1 day;
▪️A random camouflage for ground vehicles (out of the selection of camouflages currently obtainable in game for completing tasks, or purchasing with Golden Eagles).

Other terms
▪️Tasks are available from 11:00 GMT until 11:30 GMT on the final day of each task.
▪️Tasks can be completed in random battles except for “Assault” mode.

You can read a detailed description of which task is for which day and your overall progress by going to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.

🏆Watch Top Teams Battle it out in Thunder CUP 2025 and Get Yourself Awesome Twitch Drops!

2024 was an incredible year — we held several major Esports events that were high-intensity, with many teams taking part and coming out with success, victory and lots of emotion. Now it’s time to find out who will take home the Grand Champion title of 2024!

What better way to do this than to bring together the 8 best teams of the 2024 season and have them battle it out in a unique tournament featuring a variety of new game modes? Will the DODEC Team continue their success story with 3 major wins out of 4? That’s what we’ll find out in Thunder CUP 2025.

🛍Check out the Qualified Team Packs & Bundle!

From January 31st until February 28th, these packs dedicated to the 8 participating teams will be available in the store. Make sure to check them out!

🔹Team DODEC pack
🔹Team Hide pack
🔹Team Restart pack
🔹Team RAWR pack
🔹Team BIH pack
🔹Team AVReS pack
🔹Team Leet pack
🔹Team LetsGo pack

➡️Team pack bundle at -20%

📱Watch Thunder CUP 2025 and receive through Twitch Drops

First weekend — January 31st from 17:00 GMT and February 1st-2nd from 15:00 GMT
Second weekend — February 7th from 17:00 GMT and February 8th-9th from 15:00 GMT
Third weekend — February 14th from 17:00 GMT and February 15th-16th from 15:00 GMT

🔜LEARN MORE

🐅Get the F-5A(G) in the Freedom Fighter Event!

In this next aviation event, we’re celebrating the Norwegian Air Force. Take part in air battles to get unique decals as well as this special version of the F-5A fighter, nicknamed the “Freedom Fighter”, designed for export to Norway!

🏪From February 6th (11:00 GMT) until February 24th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Air Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards!

🇳🇴🇸🇪F-5A(G) — An Event Vehicle Jet Fighter for Sweden at Rank VII

The F-5A(G) is a Royal Norwegian Air Force multi-role fighter jet. This modification is equipped with a new sighting system, all-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and the Penguin guided anti-ship missile with a thermal imaging homing head, which will prove itself in battles against tanks. The F-5A(G) is the first Norwegian aircraft in War Thunder and also has a unique “tiger" camouflage!

🎁Rewards are given when you complete a specific number of stages

▪️For 1 stage: trophy with random reward
▪️For 2 stages: one of the decal rewards
▪️For 3 stages: a silver chest “Snake Box”
▪️For 4 stages: one of the decal rewards
▪️For 5 stages: trophy with random reward
▪️For 6 stages: “Emblem of the 336th squadron” decal
▪️For 7 stages: a silver chest “Snake Box”
▪️For 8 stages: a non-tradable coupon for the F-5A(G)
▪️For 9 stages: unique camouflage and four random modifications for the F-5A(G)

❗️Each stage is unlocked for 45,000 mission points and brings a new reward.
Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT: February 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th and 22nd.

🔼The Upgrade for coupon

When you complete 8 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the F-5A(G) where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from February 6th (11:00 GMT ) until February 24th (11:00 GMT) for 750,000 mission points.

➡️LEARN MORE

🎯Planned Battle Rating Changes for February 2025

Hi everyone! Today we’re introducing a round of planned Battle Rating changes for February.

We have a number of planned changes for ground vehicles, aircraft and naval vehicles in most modes. Please check them out and let us know what you think.

➡️Click here to see the table of planned changes

❗️Removing the R2Y2 aircraft from research

Along with the planned Battle Rating changes, we also plan to remove the R2Y2s from research on April 30th. A fully detailed article on this can be found here

📢Meet the Auction!

The auction is a new way to distribute player-created content. In addition to trophies, we’ll now select a few more pieces of work from those not included in them and release them to the auction in limited edition.

How does the auction work?
Trading is carried out using a special currency called Gaijin Coin, the same currency already used on the Gaijin Marketplace.

“Lots” with a minimum bid are put up for auction, which will open for bids at a set time and date. Bidding lasts for a certain amount of time so that everyone who wants to can make their bids.

There is a starting price for each item, so to make a bid you’ll need at least that amount of GJN on your account. The amount you bid is frozen until the end of the bidding or until you make a new bid. If you win, you receive the item and the amount is debited from your account, otherwise the amount you bid is returned to your account.

If you’re outbid, (or in the case of multi-item auctions, if your bid is no longer high enough to win the item), you’ll receive a notification about this. At the end of the auction, you’ll also receive a notification of the auction result.

An auction may contain several identical items in the form of many lots — one item per lot. If this happens, they’ll be received by the players who made the highest bids, and the number of winners will be equal to the number of auction lots. For example, if there are 1,000 participants in an auction for 100 lots, the item will be received by 100 players who had the highest bids at the end of the auction.

If players with the same bid compete for the remaining item, then the first bidder will have the advantage since they bid first. One player can only buy one lot from an auction.

In the auction interface, you’ll see the values ​​of the current leading bids.

➡️Click here to go to the Auction
➡️LEARN MORE

🛠It’s fixed! №102

Today, we’ve rounded up and will be going over some of the bug fixes and improvements that we’ve made to the game today and over the past few weeks. If you’d like to catch up on every fixed bug, then be sure to check out the changelog section on our website.

If you’ve found a bug that you’d like to report, you can do so on our community bug reporting platform.

✅Helicopters that had magic tricks

Helicopters are pretty fragile vehicles, but a couple of bugs that crept into the game made them much more durable. One of these bugs allowed bombs to pass through helicopters without causing any damage. Another gave helicopters the ability to deflect bombs with its rotor blades, with the slower the bomb fell, the more chances the blades had to deflect it. Both of these bugs have been fixed.

✅Crew incorrect voices after firing

You aim your gun, fire and hit your target and smile — however, your crew said that it was a miss and to adjust your aim. What kind of shenanigans were going on here? There was a bug where the crew called out a hit a miss when the discarding sabot part of an APFSDS shell flew past the enemy vehicle, even though the armor-piercing part of the shell itself hit the target. We’ve fixed this bug!

✅Missile launch line displaying at all times

When launching air-to-surface guided missiles, the launch zone is outlined with a green line for clarity. But a bug caused this line to remain on the screen if you were destroyed and respawned in another aircraft, even if you left the battle and went into another. This bug has been fixed!

✅Stuck bomb bay

Aircraft capable of carrying different bombs either externally on hardpoints or internally in the bomb bay were found to have strange behavior. If you opened the bomb bay and then selected bombs on the external hardpoints, the bomb bay closed by itself and did not open again until either selecting the bombs in it or deselecting the external weapons. We’ve fixed this bug too.

That’s not all
You’ll find the full list of improvements in separate update notes. The display of water near the shore has been improved, the voice announcer no longer reports the direction of the previous missile, and the hit analysis no longer shows shells that are not in the feed.

➡️Update 2.43.0.86
➡️Update 2.43.0.87

🐞Once again, many thanks for all your bug reports that you submitted using our special service.