Hero image: War Thunder. Image: Gaijin Entertainment
Gaijin says an overhauled DIRCM is coming with the next major update. Jammers will aim a narrow signal at one missile at a time, so a salvo can now overwhelm one.
If you fly or drive a vehicle with a directional jammer, your defence is about to change. Gaijin’s Steam post went up at 15:33 UTC on 23 October, which was 2:33am AEDT on 24 October once converted. It gives no date beyond “the upcoming major update”.
The post opens with a line about the old system: “The missile used to know where it was at all times, then it took a laser in the seeker!” Today, it says, every DIRCM works like regular IRCM, with very wide radiation sectors. The jammer is always active while IRCM is on, works in a fixed sector and handles many threats at once.
The new version aims a narrow jamming signal with turret mechanics. The post lists four changes you will feel.
First, the system is cued by the missile launch warning system. A missile the warning system does not detect will not be jammed. Second, after a processing delay similar to active protection systems, the jammer slews to a detected threat and keeps emitting until the threat is dropped. One jammer can only engage one threat at a time, so firing several missiles at once can overwhelm it.
Third, when a threat veers off course or stops approaching, the jammer stops after a short period and frees up for another. Fourth, the visuals change. Jammers are animated and slew towards engaged threats, and they strobe in night vision. When IRCM is off they move to a stowed position.
On aircraft, the RWR scope shows which threats the jammer is engaging. A blinking JAM indicator appears while any jammer is active.
The lamp-based jammers on the Ka-52 and the Schützenpanzer Puma, in all versions, get the change. So do the laser jammers on the Mi-28NM, the AH-64E in all versions, the Z-10ME and the Mi-8AMTSh-VN.
The post gives no numbers for the processing delay or the jamming time. Gaijin also published a video titled Improved DIRCM/LDIRCM on War Thunder’s official channel. It was not watched, so nothing here describes it.
When Steam’s most-played chart was read on 25 October, War Thunder ranked 15th. That is a Steam rank on that day, not a player count.
Source: Gaijin Entertainment (Steam) – Improvements to DIRCM, War Thunder (YouTube) – Improved DIRCM/LDIRCM, Steam – War Thunder