Gaijin Entertainment is running the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses event in War Thunder from October 16 to 19, 2026, a limited asymmetrical mode in which one team attacks a set of S-75 surface-to-air missile positions while the other defends them. The mode runs without map markers, so enemy aircraft stay hidden unless they circle directly above a spawn point.
The studio frames the mode around October 17, 1965, when a strike against SAM positions during Operation Iron Hand in the Vietnam War became the first operation aimed at suppressing missile air defenses. That campaign continued until 1973 and split into many individual SEAD missions.
The two sides
The attacking side uses the F-4E Phantom II as its primary strike aircraft, carrying rockets and bombs for ground targets plus air-to-air missiles for hostile aircraft, and the AH-1F helicopter, armed with ATGMs and rockets for precise fire against the air-defense systems. Their goal is to destroy every S-75 position. Defenders fly the MiG-21bis with air-to-air missiles and must protect the AI-controlled S-75 batteries, which are screened by AI-controlled ZSU-23-4 Shilka anti-air vehicles.
How a match is constrained
Anyone with an aircraft of rank V or higher can join, and event vehicles are assigned automatically rather than purchased. Each player has three respawns. Vehicles carry a Silver Lions spawn cost that is refunded if the aircraft survives the mission or the pilot exits through a safe zone, with the refund scaled to the aircraft’s condition. Safe exit zones open only after the required weapon type is expended: air-to-ground munitions must all be used, air-to-air missiles are not counted toward that requirement, but a pilot who spawns with only missiles must fire all of them.
Participation earns research points and Silver Lions.
Why it is separate from random battles
Gaijin keeps SEAD out of the Random Battles queue because its specialized vehicles and weapons would leave players with ineffective lineups, and the S-75s and the large number of Shilkas make the difficulty too high for general objectives. Anti-radiation missiles are also withheld: internal testing found them too effective, letting attackers overrun the defense. They remain usable in the separate Nuclear Escalation mode.
Gaijin has confirmed the October 16 to 19 window, the attack-versus-defend rules, the markerless setup, and the rank V entry requirement. It has not said whether the event will return after October 19, so the listed window is the only confirmed availability.
Sources
- Reporting source: GamerHeadlines
- Official announcement: Gaijin Entertainment
