A gamer has leaked classified military documents to win an online argument about a warplane’s radar capabilities.
Players of War Thunder, were arguing about the scanning capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a real plane that was recently introduced to the game.
The argument got so heated that one user posted secret material in an attempt to prove their point, a move that forced the Italian Ministry of Defence to scramble and get the leaked documents taken down after it was confirmed they were genuine.
Following the leak of the document, which revealed the different between the Eurofighter’s manual and electronic scanning capabilities, a forum community manager reminded users of the risks and responsibilities involved.
‘I will take this opportunity to again remind everyone here, please do not, under any circumstances, try to post, share any sources unless you are 100 per cent certain they are legally declassified and publicly safe for use’, they wrote.
‘We will never handle or use them, and all it does is actively harm any possible future changes being possible by trying to use them. Do not do it. No good will ever come from it for you or the vehicle you are trying to post for.’
A technical moderator on the forum added: ‘We have directly confirmed with the Italian MoD these are available illegally. You cannot use these documents for reporting and you cannot post them.’
The Italian MoD said: ‘We take all unauthorised disclosures of information extremely seriously. This incident will be reviewed and, if appropriate, an investigation will be launched, and mitigations put in place to prevent reoccurrences. We do not comment on leaked documents.’
Players of War Thunder, were arguing about the scanning capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon (pictured)
Soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas are continuing to practice tank maneuvers during the COVID-19 pandemic while using the online game War Thunder
‘We have a lot of Soldiers who enjoy video games on their free time, talking with many of them we found out that a lot played tank games and so we began exploring opportunities,’ Capt. Mike Manougian said
War Thunder is a free-to-play combat simulator that allows players from around the world to use highly-realistic military vehicles from across history.
While the game’s developers, Hungary-based Gaijin Entertainment, relies in publicly available information to code the vehicles’ capabilities, users have become infamous for leaking restricted data on forums to try and enact changes.
The most notorious of these leaks came in 2021, when a player claiming to be a Challenger 2 commander posted classified documents online to try and force Gaijin entertainment into improving the design of its digital tank.
The leak of the documents, essentially a Challenger 2 manual, forced Britain’s MoD to get involved.
The accuracy of the game is so high that during the COVID-19 pandemic, US Army soldiers conducted training exercises in War Thunder.
The soldiers normally operate M1A2 Abrams tanks in four person groups, with each soldier assigned a role as either commander, gunner, loader, or driver.
While playing War Thunder, each soldier was assigned their own tank, which helps them practice what the other crew positions are like, something they otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to experience.
‘The idea came about after limitations were placed on training opportunities in order to protect the force,’ Capt. Mike Manougian said in an interview in 2020.
‘We have a lot of soldiers who enjoy video games on their free time, talking with many of them we found out that a lot played tank games and so we began exploring opportunities.’
