Classified military documents have been leaked on the War Thunder forums again

Classified military documents have seemingly been leaked onto War Thunder official forums in the fourth leak in recent memory. According to screenshots posted by Twitter user AGCast4, a War Thunder forums user today (Jan. 17) leaked classified US military documents relating to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, typically known as the F-16.

The leak comes after players and forum users were disgruntled over potential nerfs to the F-16 (An aircraft not currently in the game). In an effort to persuade the developers, forum user spacenavy90 posted links to reportedly classified documents. While the user initially argued that the documents were allowed under developer Gaijin’s rules over documents over 40 years old, it was later shown that several of the details were from documents labeled “Department of Defense Only” and “Export Controlled.”

The F-16 is currently in service with the U.S Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard, and United States Navy. It is also in service with the air forces of around 25 other nations. 

The War Thunder Forum has become a veritable hotbed of military secret leaking. In 2021, excerpts from the British Challenger 2 tank user manual were posted on the forum in an attempt to persuade Gaijin to change the in-game design of the vehicle. The Challenger 2 remains in current service in the British armed forces. 

In 2022, a similar incident relating to the French Leclerc tanks and Chinese anti-tank weaponry were also posted. A second incident in 2022 saw users post classified documents about the Chinese Type 99 tank.

Now for the fourth time in three years, War Thunder and Gaijin find themselves having to vigorously remind their dedicated fan base not to post classified military secrets on their forums. However, War Thunder players are notorious sticklers for simulation accuracy, and the game prides itself on being one of the most accurate military simulators out there. Anything short of real perfection isn’t enough for War Thunder fans, who are sometimes uncharitably called “rivet counters” for their obsession with small details.

Honestly, though, who can blame them? If you’re a dedicated player with access to this information, who can blame you for being mad when this seemingly “realistic” game gets you killed when you know your vehicle could have easily survived that in real life! Just perhaps, something short of posting a leak of classified documents on the War Thunder forums is the best way of dealing with this… 

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