In order to prove that the tanks in War Thunder are wrong, players have leaked confidential military documents

According to foreign media reports, "War Thunder" is a combat simulation game that takes realism very seriously, but it is obviously not as serious as some players. In 2019, the Challenger 2 (Challenger 2) main battle tank was added to the game. It plays a key but polarizing role on the virtual battlefield, and its accuracy and balance become a point of contention among players.

Last week, a player with the username Pyrophoric won a debate on the War Thunder forum by posting a schematic of Chapelenger 2 extracted from the Army Equipment Support Publication (AESP) user manual. He showed that the connection between the turret and the hull of a tank is less vulnerable to attack in real life than in the game.

The AESP crossed out the "UK Restricted" label and replaced it with an "Unclassified" stamp – note that UK Restricted usually refers to documents that were previously classified but are no longer, and "unclassified" becomes "declassified".

Forum moderators immediately spotted the post suspicious, with one of them noting that "the last time such a file was claimed to be 'unclassified,' it was still confidential." ”

War Thunder developer Gaijin contacted the UK Ministry of Defence and was told that The AESP of Challenger 2 remained confidential. A Defense Ministry representative said: "I can confirm that this is indeed an extract of real military information." A senior forum moderator at Gaijin made the following statement to Pyrophoric:

"We have received written confirmation from the Ministry of Defence that this document remains confidential. If you continue to spread it, you are violating the Official Secrets Act, as illustrated by the warning on the cover of the document, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if prosecuted. As a service member, you have signed a statement that shows that you understand the behavior and the actions it forces you to take.

Every time you post this message, you put us (Gaijin's international representatives) and especially any British citizens at risk, and it's an offense to keep protected documents without authorization. ”

Pyrophoric hasn't heard from him since, but he's still active online. According to the forum's popularity rating system, as of this writing, his account is still very active and has an "outstanding community reputation." In his profile, Pyrophoric describes himself as a 40-year-old man. He also described himself as a former commander of Challenger 2, an Army instructor and a former member of the Armoured Trials and Development Unit.

Unfortunately, Gaijin failed to take advantage of the opportunity to make their Challenger 2 model more accurate, and said they don't plan to update it.