War Thunder’s first major update of 2024, titled “Alpha Strike,” has arrived with substantial additions across nearly all aspects of the game. This update introduces new ground vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, maps, and some quality-of-life features.
Several nations receive new ground vehicles, including five Rank VII premiums for the USSR, Japan, Italy, Sweden, and Israel. Britain expands its regular tech tree with the swift and potent Fox armored fighting vehicle. Germany fields the unique Zerstörer 45, while the US rolls out the unorthodox 120S, combining an M1A1 turret with an M60A1 hull. China adds the ZBD-04A, a versatile light tank armed with both ATGMs and an autocannon. France bolsters its lower ranks with the VTT DCA SPAA.
Aircraft takes center stage in this update, with Germany and France gaining the nimble Alpha Jet. Notably, Hungary makes its War Thunder debut, with a lineup spanning from IL-10 to JAS39C. Additionally, the US adds the premium F-20A Tigershark, while several other nations expand their rosters, such as Britain’s Buccaneer S.2B and Israel’s Su-25SM3.
Britain also welcomes the distinctive Wessex HU Mk.5, while the US and China both get the AH-1W with its potent Hellfire missiles. Meanwhile, Israel gains access to the Spike ER-equipped AH-60 Battle Hawk. All AH-64 Apache variants also receive highly detailed new cockpits.
Naval combat enthusiasts will find Japan with the IJN Mutsu, boasting the largest guns currently in War Thunder – 410mm cannons. Other notable naval additions include Britain’s HMS Diamond premium destroyer, the US coastal fleet vessel USS Dealey, Italy’s RN Bolzano heavy cruiser, and France’s new top-tier battleship, the Bretagne.
New Locations and Features
Ground forces gain the “North Holland” map, a mixed urban environment inspired by the popular Eastern Europe location and featuring a drivable mall. Air Realistic Battles welcomes the Golan Heights mission for top-tier engagements, with unique airspawns.
As mentioned in War Thunder’s 2024 roadmap, this update implements an adjustable fuel slider for aircraft (within limitations), fixes duplicate air-to-air missile loadouts, and adds minimap aircraft detection zones in ground battles. New missile-focused tutorial missions aid player learning and ground battle capture zone mechanics have been refined. Players can now even customize their killfeed displays.
Meanwhile, replay analysis receives a major boost with the new sensor view mode, visualizing radar, detection systems, and other combat data. Naval players gain a new Fire Control System interface, offering heading and target speed information for improved targeting accuracy.
You can watch these major changes in action below, then scroll down to the full list of new vehicles and features.
War Thunder Alpha Strike Update Trailer
War Thunder Alpha Strike Update Notes
Aircraft
USA
- F-20A (Pack)
Germany
- Alpha JET A
- BF 109 C-1
USSR
- Su-25SM3
Great Britain
- Buccaneer S.2B
Japan
- F-5E FCU (Squadron vehicle)
- F-15J — unique detailed cockpit added
Italy
- Hungarian Aircraft Subtree
- Yak-9P
- Tu-2S-59
- IL-10
- Il-28
- MiG-15bis
- MiG-17PF
- Su-22M3
- MiG-21MF
- MiG-21bis-SAU
- MiG-23MF
- MiG-29 (9-12B)
- JAS39EBS HU C
France
- Alpha JET E
Israel
- BAZ — unique detailed cockpit added
Ground vehicles
USA
- 120S
Germany
- Zerstorer 45
USSR
- ZSU-23-4M4
- T-80UD (Premium)
Great Britain
- FV721 Fox
Japan
- Type 90B Fuji (Pack)
China
- ZBD04A
Italy
- Centauro RGO (Pack)
France
- VTT DCA
Sweden
- Strv 121B Christian II (Pack)
Israel
- Merkava Mk.3 Raam Segol (Pack)
Helicopters
USA
- AH-1W
- AH-64A, AH-64D, AH-64A Peten, AH-64A (GR), YAH-64 — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Great Britain
- Wessex HU Mk.5
- AH Mk.1 Apache — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Japan
- AH-64DJP — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
China
- AH-1W
Sweden
- AHS — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Israel
- AH-60
- Peten, Saraph, AH-64A Peten — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Naval Fleet
USA
- USS Dealey (DE-1006)
Great Britain
- HMS Diamond (Premium)
Japan
- IJN Mutsu
Italy
- RN Bolzano
France
- Kleber
- Bretagne
New locations and missions
- North Holland — a new location for Ground Battles has been added.
- A new Air Realistic Battle mission called “Kamchatka. East” on the “Kamchatka” map has been added.
- A new Air Realistic Battle mission called “Golan Heights (aerial spawn)” on the “Golan Heights” map has been added. Players spawn in the air, but along the front line rather than in a single point. The mission is available on top tier.
Location and mission updates
- Snow textures being too dirty on the Frozen Pass location have been fixed.
- Gaps have been closed and the spawn points on the Carpathians location have been protected.
- The aircraft part of the Karelia location has been expanded.
- A stage airfield has been added to Air Realistic Battle missions based on the Enduring Confrontation logic (Spain, Vietnam, Rocky Canyon, Afghanistan). It is located closer to the front line and can not be spawned at, however it can be used to rearm and repair.
- The physics of fallen trees has been improved. Now, they roll less after falling, and the crown of a tree now lays the ground, taking up less space on the screen.
- Several changes to the “Low cloud” weather preset. The amount of clouds has been increased and their starting altitude has been lowered to make it more difficult for aircraft to attack from high altitudes, while reducing haze to make it easier to spot targets at low altitudes.
- The size of destruction effects have been adjusted relative to the size of the objects being destroyed.
- The airfield positioning mechanic has been improved, affecting all types of missions (air, ground etc). There should now be far fewer situations where the airfield is located on a prominent hill. However if such airfields are still found, please create a bug report indicating their position.
- Destruction effects of different buildings and objects have been changed. The change is aimed to reduce the impact of effects on gameplay (prior to the change they could have caused the player to lose clear sight for a long time), and to fix situations where small objects could have left large destruction effects.
- Structures covering the Northern spawn point of the right team on the “Abandoned Factory” location have been changed to provide a safer start on the way to the capture point.
- Both [Domination] South Kvarken naval missions have been removed from the rotation.
For more details about vehicle and gameplay changes, along with bug fixes, you can find them in the changelog.
