War Thunder’s “Tusk Force” Brings Oplot-T, Thai Subtree and a SAM Arms Race — Here’s What Matters

This update caught my eye for what it means to the meta, not just the headline vehicles

Gaijin’s mid-September “Tusk Force” update isn’t just more metal to grind. It’s a snapshot of where War Thunder is heading: national subtrees filling painful holes, modern SAMs pushing hard on air superiority, and Naval getting another capital ship to wake up the queue. The flashy headline is the game’s first Ukrainian-made tank, the Oplot-T, but the deeper story is how Thailand’s new subtree changes Japan’s lineup and how Sky Sabre and Buk-M3 escalate the top-tier anti-air game.

Key Takeaways

• Japan mains finally get relief via a Thai ground subtree-lineup depth at mid-to-high tiers is the real win.
• Oplot-T brings Ukrainian engineering to the game with serious survivability and punch, packaged as Thai export.
• Sky Sabre and Buk-M3 push top-tier Ground RB toward “no-fly” territory-expect CAS pilots to feel the squeeze.
• USS Maryland gives Naval another heavyweight; CF-188A promises a flexible 4th-gen fighter, but balance hinges on loadouts and BRs.

Breaking down the announcement

The Oplot-T is a standout because it’s the first Ukrainian-built vehicle to make it into War Thunder, even if it arrives via Thailand. It’s a T‑80UD derivative outfitted for export, and in-game it packs the kind of tools top-tier tanker mains actually use: reactive armor, a Laser Warning Receiver, and an optronic countermeasure suite to mess with incoming ATGMs. The upgraded transmission with a 30 km/h reverse speed matters more than it sounds-ducking back behind cover after a bad peek is the difference between a kill streak and a hangar screen. Ammunition-wise, the mix is spicy: familiar Soviet-style rounds, plus Chinese GP125 ATGMs and a top-end BTA4 APFSDS reportedly punching through over half a meter of armor.

The Thai ground subtree landing under Japan is the more meta-shifting move. Japan’s ground tree has long had lineup gaps—great individual vehicles, thin breadth. Subtrees are Gaijin’s fix; we’ve seen it with Finland under Sweden and South Africa under Britain. Thailand brings practical, queue-ready solutions to Japan’s mid-to-top tiers so you’re not taking a single MBT and praying your backup can carry. It’s content that affects actual matchmaking, not just hangar eye candy.

On the AA front, Britain gets Sky Sabre and Russia gets Buk‑M3. Sky Sabre’s CAMM and CAMM‑ER missiles (roughly 25 km and 45 km ranges) are new to the game and finally hand UK players a credible top-tier SAM after years of duct-taping with stopgaps. The Buk‑M3 moves Russia further into long-reach denial with 9M317MA missiles, thrust-vector control and 30G capability. Crucially, Buk launchers retain their own sights, thermal imager and a sector radar, so losing the primary radar won’t totally declaw them. That keeps the system viable in Ground RB’s chaos, where the first thing everyone does is hunt your big spinning dish.

Naval gets the USS Maryland, a Colorado-class battleship with eight 406 mm guns, chunky secondaries and serious AA that historically tanked torpedoes and kamikazes. It’s the kind of ship that can drag Naval players back in for a few weekends—if the maps let her breathe. And at the top of the air food chain, the Canadian CF‑188A (Canada’s Hornet) should add a flexible multirole option. Exact loadouts weren’t detailed, so the real impact will come down to which radar missiles and IR seekers Gaijin approves and where they bracket its BR.

Why this matters now

Subtrees are the healthiest way War Thunder has found to make neglected nations actually playable across multiple BRs. Japan desperately needed lineup depth; Thailand provides it without inventing paper projects. The Oplot-T arriving with that subtree also answers a longstanding community ask: represent modern Ukrainian engineering somewhere, even if Ukraine isn’t its own tree.

The SAM additions speak to the current arms race at top tier. Since Fox-3s and more modern jets crept into the meta, Ground RB turned into a tug-of-war between CAS and SPAA. Sky Sabre and Buk‑M3 push the pendulum back toward ground safety. That’s good news if you’re sick of being JDAM’d off spawn, but it risks turning the sky into a killbox if ranges and reaction times aren’t tuned properly. Range on the stat card is one thing; cluttered terrain, radar notch behavior and multipath interference on real maps are another. We’ll need to see how these systems actually track low flyers zipping behind hills.

The gamer’s perspective: balance, grind, and practical lineups

Here’s what I’ll be watching after the patch drops:

• BR shuffles and lineup viability for Japan with Thai vehicles—can you field two solid MBTs plus competent SPAA at key tiers without resorting to meme picks?
• Oplot-T’s “feel” in peeker’s advantage duels—does the combo of ERA, LWR and fast reverse actually save you from third-party fire in urban maps?
• Sky Sabre vs Buk‑M3 effectiveness on real maps—do they create fair denial zones or instant-death bubbles? Narrow-sector tracking on Buk launchers could be a meaningful limiter.
• Naval map rotation for USS Maryland—no one wants a 406 mm queen stuck on a coastal shoebox. Give the guns space and Naval queues will pop for a bit.
• CF‑188A’s BR and missiles—Hornet agility plus strong BVR/IR could crowd out older 4th gens if not carefully bracketed.

And yes, the grind. Dozens of vehicles usually means fresh modules, new repair bills and a reason to rebuy backups. Subtrees can ease the climb if Gaijin folders smartly, but if you’re a Japan main returning from a break, expect a few evenings of stock misery before the pay-off. It’s the War Thunder tax.

Looking ahead

If Gaijin balances these SAMs sensibly and the Thai subtree plugs Japan’s holes without power-creeping the tier, Tusk Force will feel like more than a content dump—it’ll be a quality-of-life patch for multiple nations. The Oplot-T is the conversation piece, but the meta shifts will come from lineup options and air denial.

TL;DR

Tusk Force adds meaningful toys: Ukraine’s Oplot-T via Thailand, a Thai subtree that finally helps Japan, serious new SAMs for UK and Russia, USS Maryland, and Canada’s CF‑188A. Exciting stuff, but the real test is BRs and balance—especially how those long-range SAMs play on real maps and whether Japan’s new lineup truly clicks.

If Gaijin nails the tuning, this patch could make multiple nations feel fresh without breaking the skies.