[2023] J-8F jet fighter and future plans on the BVRAAMs

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

The new J-8F is an upgraded version of the famous Chinese jet fighter, equipped with helmet-mounted sight and advanced weapons! Meet one of the champions of the upcoming La Royale update!

J-8F, jet fighter, China, rank VIII
Features:

• New fire control system
  
• High max speed and climb rate
  
• Deadly all-aspect PL-8 missiles
  
• Drains energy in turn-fighting

The modern J-8F jet fighter will become China's new top-tier aircraft, which will be available in the upcoming La Royale major update. Today we will tell you about this wonderful aircraft, and also reveal the plans of the War Thunder development team for long-range air combat missiles.

So, the new J-8 series aircraft comes as a remedy for those imperfections the previous model the J-8B had. The J-8F received modern avionics - a new, more reliable and sensitive radar, as well as a new fire control system, which includes not only the HUD, but also the pilot's visor. From the previous model, the new J-8F receives very good PL-5B missiles, however, the new all-aspect PL-8 with a launch range of up to 18 km will become the main weapon for air combat. The high G-tolerance of the PL-8 missiles, combined with convenient sight via a helmet-mounted targeting system, make the J-8F one of the best interceptors in War Thunder.

The J-8F is known to carry the PL-12 BVRAAMs (beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles), but adding them to the game would mean the J-8F has a significant advantage over all opponents on the battlefield. Our team also had the idea to equip the fighter with PL-11 missiles as a placeholder, but such missiles could not be used on the J-8F due to lack of the target illumination radar. Therefore, we decided to introduce a set of 6 PL-8 missiles for the J-8F, which make the aircraft an excellent duellist at medium and close distances. The PL-12 missiles, same as other medium-range active seeker missiles for fighters of other game nations, will appear in War Thunder at the same time in one of the future game updates.

The J-8F is also equipped with new engines with slightly better thrust ratings. The fast fighter becomes a little faster - now its maximum speed at high altitude is about 2350 km/h (~M 2.25). In the La Royale update, both J-8 aircraft will also receive differential elevator deflection, which significantly improves roll speed. Excellent maneuverability for its weight, one of the distinguishing features of the series, has become even better! It is worth remembering however that the aircraft tends to bleed speed quickly in sharp turns, so altitude and speed are still the key to success for the J-8F.

Despite its primary purpose as an interceptor, the J-8F can also be used in mixed battles. To kill armored vehicles, the fighter is equipped with new high drag bombs and Type 90-1 HEAT rocket pods. As usual, the weapon configurator will help the pilot to configure the aircraft for any combat mission!




The J-8F fighter, nicknamed “Handsome Sky Lad” in China, will be added to rank VIII of the Chinese aviation tech tree in the La Royale update, which is almost ready. We can’t wait, just like you!