🏮🏮🏮Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a Decal, a Decoration, and Discounts!

Lunar New Year is an ancient holiday and one of the most important in Eastern countries. Fireworks, gifts, and a festive atmosphere await you in War Thunder. We’re celebrating the Year of the Fire Horse!

⭐️Get the “Red Fire Horse” decal!

🏪When: From February 17th (11:00 GMT) until February 24th (11:00 GMT).

Task: Earn 3,000 mission points in battles where you used Chinese vehicles at rank III or higher to receive the “Red Fire Horse” decal.

🐴Get the “Horse Figurine” decoration!

🏪When: From February 18th (11:00 GMT) until February 25th (11:00 GMT). Please note: the decoration task starts and ends one day later.

Task: Earn 20,000 mission points in battles where you used Chinese vehicles at rank III or higher to receive the “Horse Figurine” decoration.

❗️Please note: After finishing the task, you need to collect the reward manually.

Additional details:
▪️You can complete the task in random battles, except for [Assault] mode.
▪️Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → Lunar New Year.
▪️You can find the decal in the Holidays tab in the Customization menu.

🛍The ZTZ96A (P), Type 69-IIa and Т-62 №545 are temporarily available at a 50% discount for Golden Eagles!

🏪When: From February 17th (09:00 GMT) until February 24th (09:00 GMT).

Where: China > Army > Premium vehicles.

▪️The Type 69-IIa (Rank V) is available for 4190 Golden Eagles*

The Type 69-IIa is an improved export version of the Type 69, equipped with a 100 mm rifled gun from the Type 59, a laser rangefinder, and a two-plane stabilizer. With a wide range of ammunition, an improved fire control system, night vision devices, and smoke grenades. This tank excels in long-range duels, but is still nicely versatile across the board.

▪️The T-62 No.545 (Rank VI) is available for 4365 Golden Eagles*

The Type 69-IIa is an improved export version of the Type 69, equipped with a 100 mm rifled gun from the Type 59, a laser rangefinder, and a two-plane stabilizer. With a wide range of ammunition, an improved fire control system, night vision devices, and smoke grenades. This tank excels in long-range duels, but is still nicely versatile across the board.

▪️The ZTZ96A (P) (Rank VII) is available for 4635 Golden Eagles

The ZTZ96A (P) is a prototype of the ZTZ96A, equipped with the JD-3 EKP, a variant of the Soviet Shtora anti-tank missile system, capable of defending against enemy ATGMs. This is a capable MBT with good protection, a thermal imager for the gunner, and a 125 mm gun with an APFSDS round that can penetrate up to 400mm of armor!

*The Type 69-IIa and T-62 No.545 are only available during this promotion.

🛍Gaijin.net Store discounts for the Lunar New Year!

➡️“The Dark Stallion ” Bundle -50%

🔹A-5C Pack
🔹Type 96A Prototype Pack
🔹Unique title: “The Dark Stallion”
🔹Unique decal: “The Dark Stallion”

Players on all platforms who already own the A-5C and ZTZ96A (P) can earn the “The Dark Stallion” title and the “The Dark Stallion” decal by playing 3 battles with each vehicle (6 battles total) from February 17th (09:00 GMT) until February 24th (09:00 GMT).

➡️“Golden Spears and Iron Horses” Bundle -50%

🔹Al-Khalid Pack
🔹Z-19E Pack
🔹Unique title: “Golden Spears and Iron Horses”
🔹Unique decal: “Longma”

Players on all platforms who already own the Al-Khalid and Z-19E can earn the “Golden Spears and Iron Horses” title and the “Longma” decal by playing 3 battles with each vehicle (6 battles total) from February 17th (09:00 GMT) until February 24th (09:00 GMT).

Note! This offer is valid for PC, Mac and Linux users only.

🐎The Horseshoe Pouch!

2026 is the Year of the Horse, and every horse, even a fiery one, needs horseshoes! When harnessing your trusty steed, don’t forget to take a horseshoe pouch with you, keeping your precious belongings safe.

📆The “Horseshoe Pouch” can be purchased from the in-game Item Shop for Silver Lions from February 17th (11:00 GMT) until March 16th (11:00 GMT).

The Horseshoe Pouch is available to players who have at least one researchable vehicle at rank II or higher on their account.

❓What’s in the pouch?

The Horseshoe Pouch contains vehicles and camouflages, decals and decorations, player icons and loading screens from past game events such as World War II Chronicles and Pages of History, World War and May events, as well as War Thunder’s birthdays. It also includes rewards from January’s Battle Passes, and even the A-26C-45! 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 Horseshoe Pouch costs 60,000 Silver Lions.

➡️LEARN MORE

🏆The WTCS Pro League Major I is Here: Register Now For The Qualification Stage!

The War Thunder Championships Series (WTCS) kicks off now. The first Major of the season is the 4v4 Mixed Realistic Battles (with markers). Whether you are an experienced pilot or a dedicated tank commander, this tournament is for you! You will need to build a versatile roster of 7 players and develop the best strategies for each map.

📆Tournament Dates

After each Open Qualifier, four teams will advance to the Playoff stage. For full details about the competitive structure and what to expect this season, make sure to read the War Thunder Championship Series 2026 Plans news, which breaks everything down.

▪️Open Qualifier I: February 21st to 22nd at 15:00 GMT
▪️Open Qualifier II: February 28th to March 1st at 15:00 GMT
▪️Playoffs: March 7th to 8th and March 14th to 15th at 15:00 GMT

📱Live Streams with Twitch Drops!

When: Each stream will start from 14:45 GMT.
Open Qualifier I Stream: February 21st and 22nd
Open Qualifier II Stream: February 28th to March 1st

Throughout the two weekends of the Open Qualifiers, live broadcasts will feature Twitch Drops, giving you the chance to earn boosters and Premium Account time. Be sure to tune in during the Finals as well to claim exclusive Twitch Drops rewards.

Matches will be broadcast in multiple languages to ensure the best viewing experience, including English, Russian, German, Polish, and French.

All matches will be broadcast live also on YouTube, so make sure to tune in and follow the action in real time!

Login to your Twitch account → link your Gaijin account → click “Allow” to be able to receive Twitch Drops!

➡️LEARN MORE

🛠It’s fixed! №113

Today, we’ve rounded up and will be covering 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.

✅A fix for the disappearance of dangerous threats on RWRs

Each RWR in the game simultaneously alerts on a limited number of threats. For readability, the most dangerous threats are selected, while less important threats are hidden. However, previously, the newest threats were hidden instead of the lowest-priority ones, preventing players from receiving alerts about certain missiles and lock-ons, which often resulted in the loss of an aircraft. The threat prioritization algorithm has been refined.

The oldest and least important threats are now hidden first, based on the “detection-lock-on-launch” scale. This error was most common in Air SB, but was also occasionally reproduced in Realistic and Arcade Battles.

✅Drowning crew fix

Ground vehicles in War Thunder can not just be flooded entirely, but partially as well. For example, if only the frontal portion of a vehicle is submerged, only that specific part will be flooded, leaving modules and other crew members outside of it undamaged. However, when crew members were lost due to drowning, new ones taking their place would immediately begin to drown without a new countdown. This, among other things, prevented the vehicle without its driver from exiting the water. Now the countdown restarts, giving the player time to escape.

✅Corrections to Multi-Vehicle SAM Systems

Multi-Vehicle SAM Systems allow you to capture points without direct player intervention. Simply relocate one vehicle to capture a point, while the other can be manually controlled and moved to a more advantageous position. Convenient!

There was a problem though. Capturing a point with a vehicle that wasn’t under the player’s control at the time of capture didn’t award the player the rewards they deserved. This is because the game checks which player owns the vehicle that captured the point to give the reward, but in this case, the check didn’t point to the vehicle’s owner.

In addition, because Multi-Vehicle SAM Systems are handled somewhat differently by the game, the artillery strike availability check on the launchers of Multi-Vehicle SAM Systems didn’t work correctly, allowing them to be called in multiple times without reloading.

✅Reappearing vehicles on Flanders fix

The Flanders map is a bit different than other maps. Environmental details and even the placement of some objects within it change depending on the session’s Battle Rating. An issue arose with the synchronization of these objects, which changed depending on the mission. As a result, players could notice that destroyed vehicles were repeatedly reappearing as if nothing had happened.

✅VT1-2 engine vehicle fix

During regular technical changes to the game’s internal systems, the German VT1-2 suffered an issue. Because it features a unique mechanic, where it can traverse even with the main engine off thanks to two battery-powered motors, we did not take this feature into account during code refactoring. As a result, when the VT1-2’s engine failed, horizontal aiming was also disabled. This issue is now fixed!

❗️That’s not all

Check out the full list of fixes and improvements in the update notes below! Random vehicles can no longer carry more ammo than they’re supposed to, and a bug that caused ray-traced shadows to become too dark has been fixed.

➡️Update 2.53.0.93
➡️Update 2.53.0.92
➡️Update 2.53.0.87

🔫Pre-order: GBT 155: Frankenstein’s HE Slinger

Meet the GBT 155, featuring a 155 mm howitzer mounted onto a Vickers chassis, coming to the game as a premium in the next major update.

🛍Pre-order - Vickers GBT155 Pack

🔹Vickers GBT155 (Rank IV, Great Britain)
🔹Premium account for 7 days
🔹1000 Golden Eagles
🔹Pre-order bonus: unique title “Big Ben”
🔹Pre-order bonus: unique decal “Keep Calm and Fire First”

🇬🇧GBT 155: A Premium Tank Destroyer (SPG) for Great Britain at Rank IV

At a glance:
▪️155 mm cannon!
▪️Powerful HE shells
▪️Vickers MBT chassis
▪️Large turret

👋Introducing the GBT 155!
Today we’re taking a look at the rather interesting GBT 155, which comes to the game as a premium vehicle, a pre-order pack being available from today that includes some cool British pre-order bonuses. Featuring a 155 mm howitzer gun, you’ll be able to add this HE slinger to several of your British ground forces lineups to have some fun. Let’s dive into the details of this Frankenstein creation!

🐎Workhorse: F-16A Block 5

Meet the main reward in the Workhorse vehicle event! This is an early variant of the F-16A multirole fighter of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. This is the first time we’ve had an F-16 variant as an event vehicle, so if you haven’t had the opportunity to try one yet, now’s the perfect time!

🇳🇱🇫🇷F-16A Block 5: An Event Vehicle Jet Fighter for France at Rank VIII

At a glance:
▪️High speed and excellent acceleration
▪️Good arsenal
▪️AN/APG-66 radar
▪️No long-range air-to-air missiles

👋Introducing the Dutch F-16A Block 5!
Say hello to a new Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft in the French aviation tree, which can be yours completely free! Meet the main reward in the Workhorse vehicle event that started today: the legendary F-16 in one of its early modifications. It’s fast and agile, primed for close combat, frantic assaults, and epic maneuvers! Let’s take a look.

➡️Click here to find out more details about the Workhorse event

💣Ho-Ni II: Devastating Power

Meet this Japanese self-propelled gun based on the Chi-Ha tank with a 105 mm howitzer, becoming a new and interesting vehicle for the Japanese lower ranks.

🇯🇵Ho-Ni II: A Tank Destroyer (SPG) for Japan at Rank I

At a glance:
▪️105 mm howitzer with HEAT and high-explosive rounds
▪️Good gun depression
▪️Average mobility
▪️Limited traverse angles
▪️Vulnerable open crew compartment

👋Introducing the Ho-Ni II!
In the next major update, we’ll be adding the new Japanese Ho-Ni, featuring a self-propelled gun on the chassis of Japan’s most widely-produced medium tank, the Chi-Ha. This vehicle is armed with a large howitzer, the largest-caliber gun in the series. Let’s take a further look at this thing!

🔼You can kick-start and greatly speed up the research of the Ho-Hi II with this pack: Japanese Starter Pack

🚩A Decal, Decoration, the Object 140 and Discounts on Soviet Vehicles!

When German troops began their offensive against Russia in early 1918, the Bolsheviks, who had come to power as a result of the October Revolution, declared mobilization. The new armed forces were named the “Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army”, and February 23rd, the day when recruitment for the Red Army began, became a public holiday within a few years. It is a day still celebrated today.

🛍The Object 140 is temporarily available at a 30% discount for 6,111 Golden Eagles!

When: From February 20th (09:00 GMT) until February 25th (09:00 GMT).

Where: USSR > Army > Premium vehicles.

After this promotion ends, the Object 140 will remain available for purchase at full price for Golden Eagles.

▪️The Object 140 (rank VI) is an experimental tank developed as an evolution of the T-54. Its 100 mm stabilized gun can fire rounds that can penetrate most enemies at its rank from the front. Its APHE rounds are very powerful, and its good mobility allows it to work effectively almost anywhere, just keep the low gun depression in mind.

🛍Discounts on Soviet vehicles in the Gaijin.Net store!

📆When: From February 20th (09:00 GMT) until February 25th (09:00 GMT).

All Soviet vehicles in the Gaijin store (except for the BMPT-72 “Terminator-2”, Su-30MK2 AMV, and the “In May ‘45” pack) are available at a 30% discount!

➡️T-72AV (TURMS-T) + Su-25K Bundle - 50%

🔹T-72AV (TURMS-T) Pack
🔹Su-25K Pack

➡️Ka-50 + T-80U-E1 Bundle - 50%

🔹Black Shark Pack
🔹T-80U-E1 Pack

➡️Red Army Day 2026 Bundle - 50%

🔹KV-1E Pack
🔹Т-34 tank mod. 1941
🔹IL-2 Avenger Pack
🔹Peshka Pack

The following Soviet vehicles can be purchased with Golden Eagles:
▪️KV-1E (rank III) for 3,200 Golden Eagles
▪️T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) (rank II) for 1,300 Golden Eagles
▪️Pe-2-205 (rank III) for 1,500 Golden Eagles
▪️IL-2 Avenger (rank III) for 1,300 Golden Eagles

➡️LEARN MORE

🐎M1296 Dragoon: Cavalry in the City!

Today we’re taking a look at one of the modern variants of the US Army Stryker combat vehicle with a 30 mm automatic cannon!

🇺🇸M1296 Dragoon: A Light Tank for the USA at Rank VI

At a glance:
▪️Unmanned turret with a 30 mm autocannon
▪️APFSDS and HE rounds
▪️High maximum speed
▪️Bulletproof armor
▪️Large size

👋Introducing the M1296 Dragoon!
Meet a long-awaited addition to the Stryker ranks, a support vehicle with a 30 mm autocannon! Signature maneuverability now combined with automatic fire and belts for all types of targets is coming to the game in the next War Thunder update! Let’s take a look at the Dragoon.

🔼You can greatly speed up the research of the M1296 Dragoon with these packs⤵️
🔹RDF/LT Pack
🔹M1A1 HC "Click-Bait" Pack

🐝RAAF F/A-18F: Twin-Seat Superbug!

The two-seater version of the famous Super Hornet arrives in War Thunder! This time, the F/A-18F from the Royal Australian Air Force with AIM-120D missiles and a huge arsenal against ground targets!

🇬🇧F/A-18F: A Jet Fighter/Naval Aircraft for Great Britain (Australia) at Rank IX!

At a glance:
▪️Twin-Seat layout
▪️Wide range of external hardpoints
▪️12 AIM-120D AMRAAMs

👋Introducing the Australian Super Hornet!
G’day mates! Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Royal Australian Air Force’s F/A-18F Super Hornet, the twin-seat modification of the famous “Rhino” (or Superbug, depending on who you ask)! Armed to the teeth with a massive loadout of AMRAAMs for aerial engagements or suitably decked out for close air support with a plethora of guided ordinance, this aircraft provides a veritable toolbox for you to use within the British aviation tree!

🔼You can greatly speed up the research of the F/A-18F with these packs⤵️
🔹MiG-21 Bison Pack
🔹CF-188A Hornet Pack

🔼How it feels to use 500% booster...

🇺🇸Reshuffles to the US Ground Vehicle Research Tree

Hey everyone! With the release of the upcoming major update, several armored vehicles in the USA research tree will be moved. Comparison images of the tree before and after the changes can be seen below. Check it out!

These changes are aimed at improving the research tree structure. Affected vehicles are marked with a special icon in the game.

We’re announcing upcoming changes in advance to give you the opportunity to plan your tech tree research with an understanding of how the tech tree will look in the near future.

📜Pages of History (March): The Legless Ace

In Pages of History this month, you will find yourself at the center of events that took place in various theaters of war. From Rzhev and Vienna, Rhine and Euphrates: participate in battles while using vehicles linked to these historic battles and get some prizes!

🏪From March 1st until March 31st, you will be able to participate in 8 tasks consecutively. Completing each task will grant you a trophy with a reward, completing all of the tasks will earn you a unique profile icon!

👨🏻‍🦰Douglas Bader was a Royal Air Force ace. In 1931, he lost both legs in an accident and was discharged, but with the outbreak of the Second World War, he returned to service. Bader participated in the Battle of Britain, flying over occupied Europe. On August 9th 1941, he was shot down over France, and while bailing out lost one of his prosthetic legs. The Germans received Bader well and even allowed British aircraft to airdrop a prosthetic leg for him. In total, Bader was credited with at least 20 air victories.

❗️You can purchase this profile icon for Golden Eagles until April 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.

✈️Hungarian Aircraft: The MÁVAG Héja I & II

A pair of Hungarian Hawks will be making their way to the start of the Italian air tree in the next major update!

🇭🇺🇮🇹Héja I and II: Hungarian Fighters for Italy at Rank I

At a glance:
▪️Two heavy machine guns
▪️Reliable speed
▪️Armored headrest
▪️No suspended weaponry
▪️All-metal construction

👋Introducing the Héja I & II!
As promised previously, we’ve been hard at work modeling and developing some domestic Hungarian aircraft to plug the gap at the start of the Hungarian line in the Italian tree. The first aircraft we have to show you are the Héja I and II, developed by Hungary on the framework of the Italian Reggiane Re.2000. Let’s get into them!

🦮Boxer SWaTrInf: Down Under to Deutschland!

Today we’re checking out the most modern representative of the Boxer family of wheeled combat vehicles, armed with a 30 mm autocannon and universal Spike-LR II ATGMs!

🇩🇪Boxer SWaTrInf: A Light Tank for Germany at Rank VII

At a glance:
▪️30 mm autocannon with automatic target tracking
▪️Spike-LR II ATGM
▪️Laser warning device
▪️Thermal imager for the commander and gunner
▪️Over 100 km/h top speed
▪️Bulletproof armor

👋Introducing the Boxer SWaTrInf!
The long-awaited German Boxer SWaTrInf is the most modern and advanced variant of the wheeled Boxer platform, armed with a 30 mm cannon and Spike ATGMs. Let’s get acquainted with this boxer!

🔼You can greatly speed up the research of the Boxer SWaTrInf with this pack:
🔹Two Fronts Pack
🔹Leopard 2A4M CAN Pack

🛍Pre-order: ZTZ96B

Today we’re checking out China’s premium ZTZ96B MBT, which serves as the transitional link between the ZTZ96 and modern ZTZ99 families.

➡️Pre-order - ZTZ96B Pack

🔹ZTZ96B (Rank VII, China)
🔹Premium account for 20 days
🔹2500 Golden Eagles
🔹Pre-order bonus: unique “Bared fangs” title
🔹Pre-order bonus: unique “Sarkastodon” decal

🇨🇳ZTZ96B: A Premium MBT for China at Rank VII

At a glance:
▪️125 mm gun with DTC10-125 APFSDS and tandem ATGMs
▪️Autoloader
▪️ERA protection
▪️Improved mobility

👋Introducing the ZTZ96B!
The upcoming War Thunder major update brings a very unique tank to rank VII of the Chinese ground forces tree, combining all the key advantages of the 96 and 99 series MBTs! Today we present the ZTZ96B, an effective and well-balanced MBT capable of handling any task in battle. Pre-orders for this vehicle have gone live today, where you can get yourself some neat pre-order bonuses. Let’s check it out!