[2023] Radars and Missiles: recent updates

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.

A little more details of a recent update with noticeable improvements in the radar mechanics, the IRST range, and flight parameters of missiles.

SAM vehicles and IRST range


Recently, the developer team introduced important fixes and adjustments for the SAM systems in War Thunder. The main improvement was the increased tracking range in automatic mode (IRST - infrared search and track). The top-tier SPPAGs go beyond the 10 km range: the range of the IRST of the FlaRakRad and ITO-90 is now 15 km, the IRST range of the TOR-M1, ADATS, and 2S6 is 12 km. The IRST range of the pre-top anti-aircraft systems LAV-AD, Type-93, Machbet, SIDAM 25, SIDAM 25 (Mistral) has increased to 10 km.


Radar warning systems are back and boosted!


We fixed an annoying issue that was disabling the laser detectors in the radar-warning systems (RWS) of armored vehicles and aircraft. But the coolest thing with RWS is that they are now much more sensitive to radars and active seekers of missiles - the detection distances are now two, or sometimes three times longer!


Induced drag: swing the missile!


The Snail programmers were concerned by the insignificant influence of induced drag on the flight performance of missiles. The induced drag (or lift-induced drag) is the force that appears on the wing top and bottom sides due to the pressure difference. An increase of induced drag causes the missile to lose more energy in sharp maneuvers, as well as when flying at low speeds. Thus, by maneuvering intensively, the pilot can swing the missile locked on to their aircraft and, more likely, avoid being hit. Such maneuvering works especially effectively over long distances - the greater the distance, the more wobbly the missile’s course due to attempts to turn on the target.