War Thunder Brings the Heat with the New "Apex Predators" Update

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the Apex Predators update for the online military action game War Thunder is already available to players. The focus here is on the 4th generation jets F-16, MiG-29 and Tornado, however, all game modes have received huge chunks of new content.

The voices of fleet officers and crews during a naval battle have been completely reworked, and carrier-based aircraft can now operate from five new aircraft carriers - Shokaku (Japan), Illustrious (GB), Saratoga, Lexington and Enterprise (USA). New ground vehicles have been introduced, i.e. the exotic American M728 engineer tank with a 165mm gun, the French Char 2C bis super-heavy tank, and the Jordanian Khalid MBT. More than 20 aircraft and helicopters now have secondary weapon customization options, and the external fuel tanks feature is available to the new top aircraft.

The Winter Quest event has also started alongside the update release. Players complete missions and fight for prizes like decorations, camouflages and, most importantly, four rare models of vehicles, including the Tornado IDS Marineflieger, a German version of the European Tornado fighter-bomber. It is intended for naval strike aviation, so the Marineflieger does not have access to guided bombs, but the aircraft can carry the AS.34 Kormoran guided anti-ship missiles (new to War Thunder) into battle.

The M728 is a combat engineering vehicle based on the chassis of the M60 tank. It was created in the 1960s and is still in the reserve of the US Army and in service with Saudi Arabia and Oman. The machine is equipped with a crane boom on the turret, a winch, a dozer blade and a 165 mm caliber demolition gun. The M728 was actively used during the Vietnam and Gulf Wars to destroy fortifications and overcome barriers, as well as perform other engineering tasks in the field. Khalid (“sword”) is a modification of the British Chieftain tank, which was originally created for the armed forces of the Shah of Iran under the name “Shir”, but then was finalized for another customer - the Jordanian army. It differs from the original version with a much more powerful engine, as well as a laser rangefinder.

War Thunder mixed battles of ground and air forces will now unfold on the new map "Gold Quarry" that recreates a typical mining and processing plant in the Tien Shan mountains. The teams will have to fight for control points among the rock heaps, between the concrete walls of the workshops and on the territory of the car park with mining dump trucks and bulldozers. In addition, the popular location "Poland" has been given a winter version - with snowdrifts and a frozen lake that you can now risk crossing to attack at the flank of the enemy.