Gaijin Entertainment released Sky Odyssey, the latest War Thunder major update, on September 16, 2026. The free update is the biggest War Thunder news of the month: it adds Greek aircraft and ground vehicles as sub-trees inside the Israeli tech tree, brings the Indian Arjun Mk 1 and the Indonesian Harimau into existing nations, opens a new Falklands ground map and reworks how bombers take damage. Gaijin first showed the update in a trailer on September 3, and a dev server opened on September 4 before the live release.
What's new in the War Thunder Sky Odyssey update
Greek sub-trees for Israel
According to Gaijin's announcement on the official forum, Greek vehicles join the Israeli tree rather than getting a nation of their own. The aviation line runs from the SB2C-5 Helldiver dive bomber up through the F-84G Thunderjet, F-102A Delta Dagger, A-7H and A-7E Corsair II, Mirage F1CG, F-4E AUP Phantom II and Mirage 2000-5EG, with the Rafale EG at the top. On the ground, the first batch covers the Osa-AKM and Tor-M1 air defense systems and the Leopard 2A6 HEL main battle tank. Gaijin also placed a Greek AH-64A helicopter in the US tree.
Other headline vehicles
The official patch overview lists new vehicles for nearly every nation. A few that stand out:
- Arjun Mk 1 (Great Britain): the Indian main battle tank, armed with a 120 mm rifled gun.
- Harimau (Japan): an Indonesian light tank with a 105 mm gun, built around mobility.
- M7 (USA) and EMBT (Germany and France): new ground vehicles at the higher ranks.
- MiG-35 (USSR), J-16 (China), J35J (Sweden) and F-14D (USA) in aviation.
- AW159 Wildcat HMA.2 (Great Britain) and H145M (Germany) helicopters.
- Ships including USS Mahan, HMS Lion and the Italian battleship RN Giulio Cesare, which is sold as a pack.
Several other additions are premium vehicles, such as the French ARL-44 Bayard and the Chinese PLZ45 self-propelled gun.
Maps
- Darwin Hill, a new Ground Battles location set in the Falkland Islands.
- Red Desert has been reworked for Ground Battles.
- The Falkland Islands and Afghanistan Air Battle maps received visual improvements.
Mechanics and interface
- Bomber damage model overhaul. Gaijin says it rebuilt bomber damage models, with recalibrated hit zones and wing and engine setups that depend on the engine type. IDC Games notes that the goal is to make attackers aim for engines, fuel tanks and crew instead of shredding wings with fragmentation.
- Rewards for abandoned vehicles in Ground and Naval Battles. If an enemy leaves a tank or ship, the kill goes to the closest enemy player or to whoever fired the nearest munition. The search radius is 3 km for ground vehicles and 20 km for ships, and the reward is half the usual amount.
- Missile flight models. Several air-to-air missiles, including AIM-7, AIM-120, R-77, PL-12 and AAM-4 variants, received revised flight models.
- Cockpits. New multi-function display pages and improved helmet-mounted displays for aircraft.
- Presets and markers. The preset limit goes up from 18 to 25, available from the start, and vehicle markers can now switch between War Thunder, NATO and Soviet styles.
- Permanent submodes. Nuclear Escalation, Naval Confrontation and Bullet Hell are now permanently available.
What it means for players
If you already play Israel, the Greek sub-trees add a whole ladder of aircraft to research, from propeller bombers to a top-tier Rafale. That is a lot of new grinding, and it also gives Israel a much larger jet lineup.
Ground players get the most direct change in the abandonment rewards. Before, an opponent who bailed out of a damaged tank denied you the kill entirely. Now you get half the usual reward if you were the closest threat. For bomber pilots, the damage overhaul changes what kills a bomber, so fighter pilots may need to change where they aim.
For newer players, the permanent submodes and the higher preset limit are the most useful changes. You no longer need to reach a certain point in progression before you can set up more loadouts.
What's next
Gaijin has already announced the next event. Desert Predator runs from October 1, 2026 (11:00 GMT) to October 19, 2026 (11:00 GMT). To win the Patria AMV (BMP-3) coupon, you need to complete eight stages worth 35,000 mission points each by playing Ground Battles at Rank III or higher. A ninth stage gives a camouflage and modifications. Separately, Gaijin has scheduled short server maintenance on September 29, 2026 from 07:00 GMT, without saying how long it will last.
Gaijin has not yet officially named or dated the next major update.
