War Thunder Update 2.57.1.126: What Changed

Gaijin published War Thunder update 2.57.1.126 on 2 September 2026. It is a maintenance patch within the 2.57 series rather than a major update: two bug fixes with broad impact, and a set of changes to the Nuclear Escalation mode.

Below is what changed and why it matters. This is a summary of the official changelog, not a reproduction of it; the changelog itself is linked in the sources and is the authority if anything here is ambiguous.

Aircraft: AI anti-air stops swatting your ordnance

The patch fixes an issue where AI self-propelled anti-aircraft guns without radar — the changelog names the ZSU-57-2, the M42 Duster and the Ostwind as examples — would intercept bombs, rockets and missiles.

For pilots this is the most consequential line in the patch. Ground-attack runs against AI-defended objectives were being blunted by anti-air that, historically, had no business tracking a falling bomb. If your bombs seemed to vanish before impact near AI columns, that was this.

Ground vehicles: terrain fall-through

A potential fix has been implemented for players falling through terrain simultaneously in a session, and Gaijin asks for any recurrence to be reported through its dedicated bug-report website.

The wording — 'potential' — is Gaijin's own, and worth respecting. It signals the team believes it has found a cause but wants confirmation from live matches. If you still fall through the map after this patch, the report link in the changelog is the right place to say so.

Nuclear Escalation: new brackets and stronger air defence

Nuclear Escalation gains two Battle Rating brackets, 8.7–9.7 and 10.0–11.0. Ramps have been added for anti-aircraft systems at airfields, and every Rapier SAM system has been replaced by FlaRakPz 1 systems equipped with Roland 1 missiles.

In the 10.0–11.0 bracket specifically: BMP-1s in USSR columns are replaced by ZSU-23-4s, and air defence at tactical assembly areas and airfields has been modified with vehicle substitutions. The S-75 surface-to-air missile's flight model, characteristics and operational logic have been adjusted. Crews of nuclear-capable aircraft are granted maximum skill levels and Expert qualification, and forest density and roadside vegetation height in combat areas have been reduced.

Read together, these push the top bracket toward a more dangerous sky and a more readable ground. Replacing the Rapier with the Roland-armed FlaRakPz 1 changes what a low-level approach faces; the S-75 adjustments matter to anyone flying the nuclear sortie itself; and thinner vegetation removes some of the concealment that made the mode's ground fights slower than intended.

What it means for you

• Fly ground attack? Expect AI anti-air to behave historically again — your ordnance should reach the target.
• Play Nuclear Escalation at the top end? Re-learn the air-defence picture before you commit a nuclear run.
• Been falling through the map? This is the patch that tries to fix it; report it if it recurs.

→ War Thunder hub: everything we have written

→ War Thunder beginner's guide 2026