The USSR is doing quite well with airplanes in War Thunder. It has many maneuverable and energy-efficient vehicles. The only disadvantage is that mid-tier planes perform poorly at altitudes above 3,000 meters.
Also, We advise you to read a helpful article: Best German Planes By Tier in War Thunder
In general, the aviation of the USSR is now meta. In the article we collected the best airplanes at each rank in 2024. Enjoy reading!
Tier I – I-16 type 24
A classic fighter. The main tactic of the game is to deceive the enemy and impose the battle on turns.
The machine gun on board the I-16 is small caliber, but its rate of fire is excellent.
You can take missiles; you can carry bombs. The latter is for when you want to fight with the ground enemy.
When playing I-16 you should beware of… Other fighters. The vast majority of them surpass the Type 24 in terms of maximum speed and lift.
Tier II – IL-2 (1942)
The IL-2 is the ideal attack aircraft for low-altitude warfare. It has phenomenal speed but a poor turning radius, mediocre roll, and poor acceleration.
The plane is well armored – the cockpit and engine are hard to shoot through.
As with the I-16, you should beware of enemy fighters. You will almost always be less maneuverable, which will destroy you.
On board:
- Machine guns;
- Bombs (100 kilograms and 250 kilograms);
- Missiles.
Tier III – Yak-3
A born fighter hunter. Its ammunition is designed for them. Yak-3 bombers and attack planes can be a bit difficult to fight against.
It maneuvers well and has decent speed at low altitudes, but it has mediocre survivability and, as we said, low ammo, which is sometimes frankly annoying.
However, it is still a good option if you are used to playing carefully and thoughtfully.
Tier IV – Su-6 (AM-42)
It is ideal for destroying ground targets. It is standard equipped with two 37mm cannons, but 23mm guns can replace them. Even heavy tanks can be easily destroyed with the former (if you shoot at vulnerable points).
Su-6 also copes well with enemy attack aircraft in air battles. In general, it looks like IL-2 from the second shooting gallery.
Tier V – La-15
The La-15 has essentially two uses: as a support weapon or as an active attack weapon.
The cannons are fast-firing and have good penetration. Quickly accelerates from the cockpit, good visibility, and maneuverability of the device does not fail – up to 700 km / h. The airplane is very agile.
The La-15 is the most vulnerable target for the F-86 and CL-13A, its primary opponents. “Meteors” also cause problems, but La-15 surpasses them in speed.
Tier VI – MiG-19PT
The MiG-19PT is the de facto leader in speed climb. It is a powerful airplane for the vertical style of play.
The cannons are robust and have low recoil (due to the position of the wings). The plane has a good roll, quickly accelerates up to 900 km/h, and maneuvers very well.
…But the wings can easily tear off during such acceleration. And the radar system of the aircraft is not so good. Also, the airplane has a meager amount of ammunition.
Tier VII – MiG-23MLD
The MIG-23MLD is the perfect choice for beginners. The airplane forgives many mistakes, so you don’t have to follow any strategy when playing it—jump into the battle and enjoy the dynamics.
You can play both at long-range (thanks to R-24R radar-guided missiles) and short-range (thanks to 23mm cannons).
Tier VIII – Su-27
Perhaps the most versatile airplane in this dash of the USSR.
It works both as support and attack and does it perfectly.
The Su-27 can carry many different air-to-air missiles on board (R-73, R-27ER, and others), and for close-range combat, it has a powerful 30mm cannon with built-in EGS.
Controls smoothly, it is very pleasant and easy enough to fly.
The F-16 should be feared, as it is more maneuverable and better adapted to high-speed combat. In general, Su-27 is hard to resist all F- (F-14A, F-15A) and JAS39A aircraft.
