War Thunder is extending man-in-the-loop (MITL) munition control to helicopters in its upcoming update, bringing them functionality already available to aircraft. The official munition-guidance announcement also details changes to selectable impact points and infrared missile targeting.
For MITL munitions, players will be able to adjust the impact point on a locked vehicle by selecting a specific spot on an enemy tank or vessel. Previously, the guidance system chose a random point on the vehicle and kept it even after the target was re-acquired. The meaningful change is control over where a locked shot is directed, rather than simply whether the target has been acquired.
Ground vehicles are getting a different treatment. They will not receive MITL capability for balance reasons, but their anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), including Spike missiles, will gain more precise impact-point selection. The target-acquisition frame will select a specific point instead of the vehicle as a whole, letting players choose where to aim before launch. That pre-launch selection is distinct from the MITL functionality being extended to helicopters.
The Eagle’s Shadow update will also change how infrared-guided air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles track aircraft. Previously, all such missiles guided toward the aircraft model’s center, regardless of seeker technology. Under the new system, they will home on the hottest components, such as engines, rather than that central point.
That infrared targeting change has three explicit exceptions: missiles with imaging infrared, pseudo-imaging, or angular-gating seekers. Seeker type will therefore matter to which targeting behavior a missile uses, replacing the previous uniform center-of-model approach.
