From Greek Jets to Falklands Armour: Sky Odyssey Expands War Thunder on Every Front

A new operational horizon has opened across land, sea and air. The Sky Odyssey major update is now live in War Thunder , delivering an extensive vehicle roster, a Greek aviation branch, Indian and Indonesian armour, the new Darwin Hill battlefield and several mechanical changes that affect far mo

A new operational horizon has opened across land, sea and air. The Sky Odyssey major update is now live in War Thunder, delivering an extensive vehicle roster, a Greek aviation branch, Indian and Indonesian armour, the new Darwin Hill battlefield and several mechanical changes that affect far more than the latest machines.

Released on September 16, the update also turns three former event modes into permanent options, completely reworks bomber damage models, improves rewards when an opponent abandons a vehicle and reorganises important parts of the hangar interface. It is a broad expansion built around both new content and systems that players interact with during every session.

Greek aircraft establish a new line in the Israeli aviation tree

One of the most substantial additions is an entire selection of Greek aircraft placed within Israel’s aviation research tree. The line spans several generations, beginning with machines such as the SB2C-5 and F-84G-16-RE before moving through the F-102A, F-86E(M), A-7H and Mirage F1CG.

At the highest ranks, players can progress into the F-4E AUP Phantom II, Mirage 2000-5EG and Rafale EG. The A-7E is also available as a premium aircraft.

This is not a standalone Greek research tree. Instead, the aircraft form a new progression line inside the existing Israeli tree, substantially expanding its options across several Battle Ratings. The arrangement gives Israeli aviation players access to a more varied historical route while bringing Greece into War Thunder with a meaningful selection rather than a single isolated premium.

The wider aircraft roster is equally ambitious. The United States receives the F-102A interceptor and an F-14D associated with VF-11, while the Soviet tree gains the multirole MiG-35. China adds the J-16, Sweden receives the J35J and France welcomes the SE.203 Aquilon 203.

Great Britain gains both researchable and premium Hawk T1A variants alongside the Australian CA-27 Mk.32. Another CA-27 Mk.32, representing Malaysia, arrives in Japan’s tree together with the A-4PTM, Indonesian B-26B and Ki-93-I Ko.

Sky Odyssey revises several modern missile families

The new aircraft are accompanied by changes to existing aerial weapons. Flight models and autopilot behaviour have been revised for multiple air-to-air missile families, including AIM-7 derivatives and several active-radar weapons.

The affected list covers missiles such as the AIM-120 family, R-77 and R-77-1, PL-12 and PL-12A, AAM-4 and MICA-EM. Gaijin states that the revised modelling has significantly increased the capabilities of several missiles, although the practical result will depend on the individual weapon, launch conditions and defensive manoeuvres.

The MICA-EM, for example, has received changes to its motor configuration and aerodynamic parameters, while its listed maximum launch range has increased. Sparrow-family missiles have also received revised flight models and autopilot settings.

Players who regularly participate in top-tier Air Realistic Battles should therefore expect more than a simple reshuffling of aircraft. Missile behaviour, energy retention and interception performance may alter established engagement ranges and defensive habits.

Arjun Mk 1 and Harimau broaden high-rank ground line-ups

On the ground, two of the update’s most distinctive newcomers come from India and Indonesia.

The Indian Arjun Mk 1 joins the British research tree. It carries a 120 mm rifled cannon, fires APFSDS ammunition comparable to rounds used by the Challenger 1 and combines respectable armour with stronger mobility than its considerable size might initially suggest. Its addition gives British high-rank players a different interpretation of the modern main battle tank rather than another direct continuation of the Challenger family.

Japan receives the Indonesian Harimau, a light tank equipped with a 105 mm cannon. Mobility is its central advantage, making it better suited to reconnaissance, flanking attacks and early positional control than prolonged frontal exchanges.

Germany and France both gain access to the EMBT, an experimental design that combines a Leclerc turret with a Leopard chassis. This hybrid provides technology from two established European tank families, although Gaijin specifically warns about the vulnerability around its turret neck.

Other ground additions include the American M7, Soviet Object 416, Chinese FK-2000 and PLZ45, Italian PzH 2000 and French ARL-44 Bayard. Greece also expands Israel’s ground tree through the Osa-AKM, Tor-M1 and locally built Leopard 2HEL.

Darwin Hill brings Ground Battles to the Falkland Islands

The update’s new Ground Battles location is Darwin Hill, inspired by the terrain of the Falkland Islands. Open grasslands dominate the environment, but the battlefield also contains small buildings, an airfield, changes in elevation and numerous defilades.

That combination should create a map where long-range visibility matters without leaving every vehicle permanently exposed. Hills and depressions can conceal hulls, while the limited settlements provide more structured fighting areas for players attempting to avoid open sightlines.

Darwin Hill is accompanied by a visual overhaul of the existing Falkland Islands air location. Its terrain has received additional detail and improved textures, benefiting from the new height-map work completed for the ground version.

Afghanistan has also received a visual overhaul, while Red Desert features revised terrain elevations and rock formations. Some extreme high-ground positions have been reduced, and the terrain around spawn areas has been lowered to offer greater protection during the opening stage of a match.

A collection of smaller map fixes targets unintended positions, obstructed spawns and environmental errors across Pyrenees, El Alamein, Attica, Gold Quarry, Frozen Pass, Tunisia, Finland, Ash River and other locations.

Bomber survivability receives a complete damage-model overhaul

One of Sky Odyssey’s most consequential changes affects a large portion of the bomber roster. Gaijin has overhauled bomber damage models by correcting bugs, recalculating hit zones and revising how damage accumulates across major structural sections.

Wing spars, tail assemblies, fuselages and engines have all received updated parameters. Instead of applying a single configuration to every piston bomber, the new system distinguishes between inline and radial engines and accounts for aircraft carrying between two and six powerplants.

Jet bombers have been tuned separately because their construction and damage behaviour require a different calculation model. The affected aircraft include major families such as the B-17, B-24, B-25, B-29, Lancaster, Halifax, Wellington, He 111, He 177, Ju 88, Pe-2, Tu-2, Il-28, Canberra, Vautour, B-52H and Tu-95M.

Gaijin describes the result as an improvement to overall bomber survivability. However, the published announcement does not frame this as a universal health-point increase. It is a deeper damage-model revision, meaning individual aircraft may react differently depending on where they are hit, the attacking ammunition and the structural component involved.

Abandoned tanks and ships can now award partial kills

The reward system previously used when aircraft were abandoned has been extended to ground vehicles and naval vessels.

If a player leaves a tank without first taking damage, the game searches for the nearest enemy within three kilometres. For ships, that radius expands to 20 kilometres. The system also considers nearby hostile ordnance, including bombs, rockets, guided and unguided missiles, torpedoes and mines.

If an eligible projectile is closer than the enemy vehicle itself, credit goes to the player who launched it. The resulting reward is 50% of the standard kill value and includes Silver Lions, Research Points and mission score.

The mechanic does not apply to reserve vehicles with no repair cost. Ground vehicles that sink without receiving damage can also award a kill to the nearest qualifying opponent within three kilometres.

This change closes a frustrating reward gap. A player who forces an opponent into an unrecoverable position or prompts an early exit should now receive partial recognition instead of seeing the target disappear without compensation.

Nuclear Escalation, Bullet Hell and Naval Enduring Confrontation become permanent

Three modes that were previously limited to special events are now permanent parts of the game.

Nuclear Escalation can be selected as an alternative to conventional Air Realistic Battles. Naval Enduring Confrontation can replace standard Naval Arcade or Realistic Battles, while Bullet Hell can be enabled as an additional Air Realistic mode.

These options are located in a new submode panel beneath the “To Battle!” button. Night Ground Battles and reduced-team Air Realistic Battles have also been moved into this area, making optional modes easier to discover.

Standard matchmaking with a Battle Rating spread of 1.0 now applies to Nuclear Escalation and Bullet Hell. Nuclear Escalation requires an aircraft rated 8.7 or higher, while Bullet Hell requires at least two aircraft with a Battle Rating of 8.3.

Making these modes permanent is more important than another temporary event rotation. Players can now create suitable line-ups and learn each ruleset without the mode disappearing after a short availability window.

A cleaner hangar and more flexible vehicle presets

The preset interface has been redesigned to reduce friction when managing large collections. A dropdown menu on the left replaces the previous editing window while retaining options to create, rename, rearrange and remove presets.

Horizontal scrolling has been added, hovering over a preset reveals the included vehicles, and players can optionally display its associated game mode and Battle Rating. Most importantly, the number of available presets is no longer tied to unlocked vehicle ranks.

Every player can now use up to 25 presets from the start, compared with the previous maximum of 18. For veterans maintaining line-ups across multiple nations, modes and Battle Ratings, this may prove more useful over time than many of the update’s headline vehicles.

Map and battle markers can also be switched between the standard War Thunder, NATO and USSR visual styles. The selected option applies to both tactical-map symbols and in-battle vehicle indicators across all modes.

Cockpit audio and battlefield feedback become more detailed

The audio system has received several targeted improvements. Aircraft and ground-based automatic guns now reflect the actual number of weapons firing, meaning a group of four machine guns should no longer sound like a single gun.

Cockpit audio includes improved aerodynamic noise, mechanical sounds, landing-wheel contact and airframe vibration. Engine profiles have been cleaned up so that unrelated effects do not overpower their individual character.

Vibration sounds now react separately to G-forces and angle of attack. This should provide better audible feedback for structural stress, flutter and buffeting, especially when pushing an aircraft close to its limits. The Ju 87’s siren has also been updated so its pitch responds to airspeed.

Sky Odyssey is more than a vehicle drop

The headline machines will naturally receive most of the initial attention, particularly the Greek aviation line, MiG-35, Arjun Mk 1, Harimau, EMBT and HMS Lion. Yet the update’s longer-lasting impact may come from its mechanical and interface changes.

More resilient bomber modelling could alter entire air-battle matchups. Partial rewards for abandoned vehicles remove an exploitable source of frustration. Permanent modes broaden the available rotation, while the preset overhaul makes an increasingly large game easier to manage.

Sky Odyssey is available now as a free major update for War Thunder. With new research targets across every branch and structural changes reaching battles far beyond the latest vehicles, the update gives pilots, tankers and naval commanders plenty of reasons to rebuild their line-ups.