The first major update for War Thunder, titled Hornet’s Sting, has officially dropped, adding visual improvements to multiple locations, several new aircraft and variants, several new mechanics, and an entire UI rework.
For starters, Rhine, Sinai, and Jungle are getting new looks. Each has received graphical overhauls, refreshing their visuals while also not changing too much of each map so as to maintain each of their familiar layouts. Textures and objects, in general, have all been advanced, improving each location without affecting gameplay.
When it comes to aircraft, War Thunder Hornet’s Sting adds the F/A-18 for the USA and Sweden – in several variants – and the Su-30SM for the USSR, which boasts thrust vectoring, serving to improve its overall maneuverability. You can see the full list of aircraft being added below:
- F/A-18A
- F/A-18C Early Pack
- F/A-18C Late
- Su-30SM
- Harrier T.10 Pack
- J-11B
- Tornado IDS MLU RET.8
- F-18C
- F-16A Netz mod Pack
Ground forces also get a nice little boost to their ranks, including the Tracked Rapier, CLOVIS, and 2S19M1 / M2. The CLOVIS light tank features an oscillating turret and an autoloader, making it perfect for scouting thanks to its quick reload and mobility. You can see the full list of ground vehicles below:
- XM246
- ADATS — visual model has been updated
- Marder CLOVIS Pack
- Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) PaK
- 2S19M1
- 2S19M2
- Harry Hopkins Mk.I
- Tracked Rapier
- Type 74 Red Star Pack
- VT-5
- Ariete Certezza Pack
- AMD.35 PaK 38
- Marder CLOVIS Premium
- DF105
In order to take more advantage of the space for each, the AH-64, Tiger, Ka-50/52, and Mi-8 helicopters received new modules in War Thunder Hornet’s Sting, making each far more efficient. The update also has lots of Tigers, as the Tiger HAD also comes as a premium pack for Germany and the Tiger HAC for France as a researchable helicopter. Check out the full list of new helicopters and various changes below:
- AH-64 (all variants) — new modules have been added and the old ones have been reworked
- Tiger HAD (Pack)Tiger (all variants) — new modules have been added.
- Ka-50, Ka-52 — new modules have been added.
- Mi-8 (all variants) — new modules have been added.
- AH Mk.1 Apache — new modules have been added and the old ones have been reworked.
- AH-64DJP — new modules have been added and the old ones have been reworked.
- Tiger HAС
- AHS — new modules have been added and the old ones have been reworked.
- Peten (all variants), Saraph — new modules have been added and the old ones have been reworked.
Last but not least is the Naval fleet, which gets some of the most iconic warships in history joining the battle. That includes the HMS Warspite, a beastly battleship for Great Britain, and updates to some reserve boats for the USSR, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, and France. See the full list below:
- USS Bagley
- Schütze (M1062)
- SM-4
- HMS Warspite
- MTB-35
- IJN Matsu
- Type T-14 (mod.2)
- Grecale
- Marne
- Aconit
- VTB-12
- VTB-18
War Thunder Hornet’s Sting also adds Maneuver Mode, Thrust Vectoring, and Radar Antenna Updates. The first two let you adjust your attack angle and unleash the full potential of your thrust vectoring system, while the latter allows you to toggle the radar antenna gyro stabilization.
One of the coolest additions is the UAV Picture-in-Picture Mode. Now, instead of remaining static in your tank while using the Scout UAV, you can switch your minimap view to the UAV’s camera view after launching the UAV, essentially becoming picture-in-picture so that you can scout and drive at the same time.
You can check out the full list of other minor changes that were added in the War Thunder Hornet’s Sting by heading over to the official Steam page. War Thunder is available now as a free-to-play title.
