Ground Forces - Rocket Guide

Air Support in Ground Forces consists of slow and clumsy bombers, or fast and scarily accurate rocket-armed fighters. Learn how to control these snipers of the air and avoid faceplanting with a full payload.

Calling in Air Support in Ground Forces

In Arcade Ground Battles, players can call in air support. Aircraft can only be used after a certain amount of points have been accumulated, displayed next to each plane icon. For a fighter escort, you need one point. Ground-attack aircraft require two points, and bombers need three. Points are gained primarily by killing enemy vehicles with your tank, although you can get points from other actions. Once you accumulate enough points, hit the ‘8’ key to call in the ground attack plane.

It’s a good idea to park your tank in a safe spot. After 15 seconds, you are switched to your newly spawned plane. You then have around one minute to do as much damage as you can. The plane you receive is randomly chosen, and depending on this plane, you may be given a selection of rockets, bombs and machine guns.

At lower tiers, your planes will mostly consist of light dive bombers and the occasional rocket-armed biplane. At mid- to high-tiers, you will become used to planes like the American P47D Thunderbolt, the British Mosquito, the Russian IL10 and the German Fw190. Each of these planes have unique loadouts that will be explained later.

It is typical for inexperienced players to perform suicide bombs. This is a bad habit to get into. Firstly, the plane itself does no damage. Secondly, spamming rockets at point blank range actually has a low kill probability. It’s better to get into the habit of being a smart pilot who wants to maximise their effect on the battle. A good rocket run at the right time can turn a game around.

Overview of Rocket Tactics

I like to divide a rocket run into three phases:

1. Approach & Assess
2. Aim & Fire
3. Rotate & Repeat

Let’s see this in action.

We’re playing Domination Mozdok, and I’ve called in an American attack plane. I first have to recognise where I am on the map. Then, I zoom in and out to scan the battlefield and identify what is happening.


In my field of view, I can recognise two distinct targets. In the bottom-left corner, I see a ton of tanks streaming out of their spawn. On the right is a lone tank destroyer. I can secure a handful of kills and hits on the enemy column, or I could take out this tank destroyer. Which one should I choose?


In this assessment phase, you need to ask yourself: which target would have the most impact on the battle? Sometimes, getting a large number of kills can change a battle by thinning out enemy numbers and eliminating players. However, certain players may have sections of the map locked down, and you may be the only person who can remove them.

In this case, I recognise that this Jagdpanther is the only tank preventing our ally from capping. He is my priority target. Having chosen that, I begin the next phase: aim and fire.


Your plane has a virtual targeting reticule. I like to right click to zoom in for more clarity. The markings show distances, but you’ll mostly be relying on feel and instinct, which you’ll hone with experience. The sweet spot is around 500m, and sometimes you will have to aim off to compensate for your rocket convergence. Rockets are usually very inaccurate, so it’s good to fire off a burst.

Here, I actually miss the Jagdpanther. However, I have no intention of crashing my plane. I still have rockets remaining, and I can still be effective. I begin the next phase: rotate and repeat.

I pull up, clearing any trees and terrain and regain some altitude. I then approach from another angle. Once I complete the turn, I can go back to the approach and assess phase.


In the few seconds I have to scan the ground, I pick out the tank I think is most dangerous to my team – the IS-2, which has a big gun and thick armour. I’m going to ruin his game. I fire off another burst, walking my rocket fire on target, and secure a direct hit with my third rocket.


I pull up again and repeat the strike. I have four rockets left and 15 seconds, just enough for one more barrage. I assess the battlefield and identify my next target: the Jagdpanther I originally missed. With a level, direct path to the target, I aim carefully and hit the Jagdpanther with the first shot. This opens up the entire flank and allows my team to cap.

Approach and Assess

Your approach is more or less dictated by where you spawned. You can change your course, but doing so may cost you time. One thing to be aware of is terrain that can block your rockets, such as buildings and hills.

When selecting your target, it’s generally easier to hit targets in the open than in streets.

That said, some enemies are dug-in so well that you have to take risky shots.


Prioritise targets that are holding key positions or locking down the map, regardless of what tank they are. Your allies will have trouble killing these tanks and they will move as soon as they see you clear it.

Also prioritise targets that are generally difficult to kill or can easily kill your team. Heavy tanks like the IS-2 and KV-2 can make things harder for your team, as do heavy tank destroyers like the Ferdinand and Jagdpanther.

If you can’t decide, just kill something. Every bit helps.

Aiming and Firing

Rockets have a huge trajectory at range. It’s best to engage at 500m or less. The closer you are, the more accurate the shot. Just don’t crash.

When aiming at closer distances, you have to compensate for your rocket spread. You always fire your left rocket first, then your right, and so on. You might find it helpful to aim off to the right to get the rocket on target.

If your plane has multiple rockets, you can use a few to zero in your sight, then deliver the kill shot.

Each plane has its own unique features. I’ll focus on the higher-tier planes as examples.


The American P-47D Thunderbolt is well balanced and has 10 rockets. These can be fairly accurate, and the high ammo count allows you to use walking fire to get on target.


The British Mosquito is one of the harder planes to use. It’s big and bulky, and the rockets are far apart on the wings, leading to erratic rocket spreads. It’s hard to snipe with these, and you’re best off aiming at grouped targets.


The Russian IL10 has two 50lb bombs and four rockets. The bombs won’t kill a tank unless it’s directly on top, but they can scare tanks into moving. The rockets can be inaccurate, but steady aim and adjustment will usually net you a kill.


The German Fw190 has only two rockets. These are very accurate, but can be very difficult to use since you’re pressured to hit on the first shot. I like to fly in nice and close with these – closing to 300m, aiming off to the right to float the first rocket on target. If you’re confident with your point of aim, you can easily take out two tanks with one rocket each.

Note that this guide only covers the higher-tier planes, which are normally available from Tier 3 upwards. Lower tiers have dive bombers, while mid-tiers have similar loadouts to these planes.

Rotate and Repeat

Avoid diving from too step an angle, as this makes it impossible to pull up in time.

Assuming you’ve cleared the terrain, this is where you’re most vulnerable. You will lose speed while climbing, and many attack planes aren’t very agile. You can easily be shot down by enemy aircraft or SPAAs during your turn. This tends to happen, so don’t fret about it. Ideally, if you get a rocket run without air threats, make the most of it. You may be able to get three passes in one run if you turn well.

Other Tips

It’s critical that you try to stay alive and make every rocket count. A calm, patient assault can net you more kills than a bomber and have a bigger influence in more parts of the map. Here, I kill two Tigers holding this corner. Not wanting to be greedy, I avoid the building and circle for a second run. I assess the battlefield and identify this IS-1 as the best target. I score a direct hit on the first shot. In this run I’ve single-handedly cleared the entire eastern flank for my team.


Even if you’ve had a bad run and you’ve got one rocket left, you can still do something with it. Don’t give up.


Generally speaking, let your rockets do the work. Your cannons and machine guns don’t do significant damage to tanks. However, you can target open-top vehicles if you have time. Here, I take the opportunity to knock out this Russian anti-air truck. It’s important not to get killed, as you are gifting the enemy the chance to call in their own air support.


If you need to get more points for your air support, you can kill AI-controlled tanks as well as humans. You can also shoot down planes and call in artillery.

Avoid calling in air support when you are in the frontline and engaged in combat. It’s a waste of a tank if you get yourself killed while sitting idle.

Although you are more agile than bombers, you will still get shot down a lot if you have no air cover.

The key is to identify key threats and eliminate them. You can snipe targets that bombers can’t accurately hit.

Avoid spraying your machine guns before bombing. This removes the element of surprise. People hate being surprised by rockets.

Finally, know when to call in a rocket run and when to call in a bomber. Bombing runs are great when you know the enemy is static and bunched up, while attack planes can zip around the map and deal with small, individual threats.


Anyway, that concludes this rocket tutorial. Enjoy your War Thunder experience, and hopefully I don’t run into your rockets.

[ramirez]

I hope there´s still someone here. I just started to play and ran into the aitstrike feature, but when I get a plane with rockets I can´t fire them. The game tells me I don´t have any, yet I have 8 in the ammo screen and can clearly see them under the wings. Do I need a different button or why does this not fire?

[SwiftAshWolf]

How do you use the Guided rockets for the FJ

[Fendryk]

for anyone having trouble reading the text on the pictures, use you mouse to highlight it

[Pants2Tight]

great guide was having trouble using rockets on hurricane mk4

[Coelian]

When your the only one defendign a cap point while your team gathers to push the enemy and ATTACK planes are on the enemy's air support, Zip towards a building or a rock to prevent a ambush from one side AND disallow the enemy attack plane to annihilate you with the rockets. It works, and i held off a bunch of Panzer 4 F1's F2's Panzer 3 J1s and t-34's while my team crept around and got the other points before the lights rushed to my assistance. i died from artillery tho.

[DaDominator32]

Or, you could not be a total ab scumbag and dont use rocket's.
In rb its fine, but in ab your a scumbag

[PanzerMaus]

Very helpful!!

[Kuro]

Not all bombers are useless. Ju87s, expecialy the b2s are often the best option for ground forces.

[Mirclasio]

nice guide

[dorkie]

This is arcancer