Hello everyone, got a big post for you today now that I have internet set up in my temporary accommodation. Today I have a devblogs covering all 3 dimensions: Land, Air and Water. To start off with I’ll cover the latest revelation for Ground Forces

T-80U:

For all you ground forces fans, we have been given the preview of the next Ran VII tank which belongs to the Soviet tech tree, the T-80U. This variant is an up-armoured variant of the T-80 which, when equipped with Kontakt-5, has an armour value of 620mm against kinetic rounds and 1000mm against chemical rounds. This will make it one of the best-armoured tanks in the game and a tough target to play against.

In regards to other stats, with an increase in rank, we will also see an improvement in ammunition types such as the 9M119 “Refleks” ATGM which will provide a reliable anti-tank missile for players to use. In order to compensate the added weight, the T-80U comes with an improved engine with 1250 horsepower, meaning it should handle quite well on the battlefield.

Now, most people will be thinking about how to deal with this tank. The main drawback we know so far is that it might have to rely on its ERA for protection, which is one use only. Once the ERA has been depleted it should be no problem for more modern ammunition to punch through its armour. Overall it is set to be a decent tank, and a must have for all players who want to try Rank VII.

USS Brooklyn:

For all you United States Navy fans, War Thunder has a treat for you in the near future: the lead ship of the Brooklyn class, the USS Brooklyn at Rank IV. This ship is going to be a hard hitter in naval battles with it’s 15 6″ guns, the biggest broadside in the game so far. With this amount of firepower, USS Brooklyn will evaporate any enemies it can hit.

In regards to secondaries and anti-aircraft, the ship is covered by 8 5″ guns with 4 on each side and a further 8 Heavy Machine guns to help deal with closer aircraft targets. But it should be noted that this ship does not come with any torpedoes, which may be a disappointment to some players who enjoy laying a torpedo screen to catch out unresponsive opponents. It has a top speed of 32.5 knots (60 km/h) and will be able to position itself well to engage opportune targets. However, as with all things naval, it can’t have good guns, good speed and good armour. The armour is lacking in key areas of the ship for combat against enemy destroyers and cruisers. While it has good armour around the magazines of up to 127mm and 51mm of deck armour, as soon as enemy cruisers and destroyers use AP against this ship it will start to lose key modules quickly, such as it’s engines which are clustered amidships.

Thus, we can speculate that this ship will be focused on long-range engagements, using its volume of fire to saturate enemy targets from afar. Yet as soon as enemy ships get in close range, this ship will struggle to weather incoming fire and will have to rely on friendly vessels to assist it in close duels. This ship will be a joy for all trigger happy commanders who prefer to smother their enemies with ordinance than those who prefer a single clean strike.

Kirov Light Cruiser:

Up next for Naval Forces we have the Kirov reporting as the new top Rank IV cruiser for the Soviet tech tree. Just like the Brooklyn, this ship will revolve around its main armament which consists of 9 180mm cannons housed in 3 triple mounts, 2 forward and 1 aft. Armed with this heavy cruiser armament, it will be able to hit enemy ships with a knockout blow and send them to the bottom.

For secondaries and anti-aircraft defence, the ship comes with 6 100mm cannons (3 each side), 7 45mm cannons and 3 12.7 DShK heavy machine guns. This means enemy aircraft and patrol vessels will be smart to avoid getting too close to this cruiser. It also comes with 2 triple torpedo launchers, further augmenting its firepower. Finally,  it has a top speed of 36 knots (66.5 km/h) which allows it to move fast to positions and retreat quickly if outnumbered or outmatched.

However, just like the USS Brooklyn, the armour is lacking on this vessel when it comes to ship to ship combat. With the conning tower being the most armoured at 150mm, the rest of the ships vital equipment gets a meagre 50mm of protection. This means that just like the USS Brooklyn, the closer the enemy gets, the greater you are going to suffer. Another reason to avoid close combat is the long reload time on the main guns, putting you at a disadvantage against ships with 152mm cannons as their reload will beat yours all the time.

As such, we can see that this too will most likely be a long-range fighter, but rather than using sheer volume of firepower, this ship is going to use its 180mm cannons to deliver devastating hits to its opponents and use its speed to avoid close combat with enemy vessels. It will provide a useful asset to all naval commanders in War Thunder.

SM.92

While the French and Japanese still need to wait, the Italians have got some love with a new addition to their air forces, the Rank IV Savoia-Marchetti SM.92 heavy fighter. Following on from the SM.91, this plane will provide an additional plane to the heavy fighter/ground attack hybrid line we see in the Italian tech tree. The main difference between this and the SM.91 is apparent from the start, a change in cockpit location. This new heavy fighter has moved the cockpit from the centre to the left fuselage, generating more speed of up to 615 km/h (310 mph) and reducing the weight, thus improving climb rate and manoeuvrability.

For armament, the SM.92 comes armed with 3 20mm cannons and 4 12.7 Breda-SAFAT heavy machine guns. It also comes with the same bomb loads as the SM.91, being able to carry 2 500 kg bombs for its top payload. For defence, it loses to remote controlled 20mm cannon the SM.91 has and it is replaced by a 12.7mm heavy machine gun located in a unique position, on the vertical stabiliser. The main disadvantage we can see so far from this aircraft it the layout of its primary armament as it is spread over 2 fuselages, deflection shooting may prove difficult in certain circumstances.

From what we can see, this plane will make an interesting addition to the Italian air force tech tree. While it has improved flying characteristics, it may be a difficult plane to master with its weapons layout. Yet with an okay payload, it can always take a CAS role for any Italian ground forces players who earn enough points to take out an aircraft.

That concludes the devblogs we received on Friday and today. Now I shall leave you a teaser from War Thunder as to what we can expect next. Feel free to discuss your thoughts and opinions in the comments and I shall see you all for the next ones.