Striker
Contents
Description
The FV102 Striker is a rank VI British tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.".
The Striker is a direct upgrade to the Swingfire and is better than its predecessor in almost every way, even though it has its own problems. Just like the Swingfire, the Striker's purpose is to blast the enemy out of cover by firing at them indirectly with easily controllable missiles, but it has some trouble at attacking long-range, as BAe Swingfire missiles are slower than normal ones.
Striker has a much better fire rate and a bigger room for error compared to its predecessor, due to having five launchers at once, thermal imaging, great mobility, better cameras with the ability to guide missiles even behind it (in Arcade mode), so its push-preventing powers can be godlike in skilled hands. Nevertheless, its guidance camera placement is far from ideal - it creates aiming depression problems when firing and controlling the ATGMs over uneven ground or from behind cover (mainly in Realistic Battles); needing the direct aiming with the scope which involves also exposing the vehicle to the enemy Line Of Sight - unlike with the Swingfire's raised camera podium.
Due to this main disadvantage, it takes a bit more dedication and patience from its users to command the vehicle expertly.
General info
Survivability and armour
For increased survivability, it is recommended to use a proper camouflage painting scheme for the environment of the battle. Having bushes and leaves also helps greatly when disguising the Striker.
For dire situations, Striker is also equipped with two groups of smoke launchers. The smoke launchers are aerosol-type as with all rank VI tanks and cover a 270-degree zone in front of the Striker within 2 seconds. It is recommended to use the second group of launchers only after gaining some distance between the pursuers. Secondary smoke can also be used to extend the smoke wall and puzzle opponents trying to find Striker amidst it, while the Striker has rapidly left the scene.
Avoid letting enemy vehicles to get into ramming range, even more in Arcade battles, as it can quickly render the Striker useless; due to the low weight and inability to retaliate while moving. If it's almost inevitable, use your good reverse speed and smokescreen to retreat.
Armour
Much like the Swingfire, Striker is a box with sloped front, however, it has a smaller profile than the Swingfire and has more armour on the front. It has a little amount of armour on other sides and there are fewer points where the Striker can get shot without consequences. Still, the sloped frontal armour makes it difficult to be destroyed with machine guns and even stock 30 mm autocannons, so the Striker should face the enemy's push direction, not just to make aiming easier, but to reduce the chances of being instantly destroyed, especially by light tanks flanking. Having high ground or a reliable sloped position might help to repel autocannons due to ricochets and the transmission protecting the bottom of the vehicle to some extent - but this should be avoided at all cost.
There is a commander cupola which has a machine gun and supports a secondary ATGM camera on it. The cupola has less armour than the hull and it's possible to lose both gunner and commander by being hit there, easily destroying the vehicle in RB.
Ammo rack and Launcher
The first thing to notice about the Striker is a giant missile panel on its back. It has 5 slots, which have missiles loaded in them. If the launcher got penetrated and damaged, it will likely explode the entire rack and torch the vehicle, like a firework; also losing any ATGMs in the rack.
The Striker's racks are a tall target and its guiding devices are located way below its weapon system and on level with its hull. While the hull itself is mostly hidden from enemy fire, it is practically impossible to fire at long range without exposing the weapon and commander cupola or using third-person view, making it an easy target for HE and patient APFSDS users. In some cases, HEAT can also ricochet off the launcher and damage the hull, resulting in crew knockout.
Hence, players must try not to get hit in the missile launch area. In case the Striker gets shot at an empty tube, there is a chance the entire rack won't break in one hit and the vehicle will still be able to fire while having the option to repair it back to 100%. In case all of the ATGMs are spent, the launcher and the rear are actually the safest places to be hit as fuel is stored there and will now be empty space.
The missile launcher itself can sometimes absorb artillery shots, helicopter ATGM or fire from the BMP-1 cannon, protecting the Striker hull, but only if shell did not have opportunity to hit the hull. The missile rack also covers the reserve ammo rack from planes strafing from the sky, so as long as they can't fire inside of the vehicle, the Striker should be fine.
Overpressure mechanics
The Striker is susceptible to the overpressure mechanics - if shockwaves made by a chemical shell of calibre 105 mm (Almost any NATO medium tank armed with HEAT-FS qualifies) hit the roof or the side of this tank, the entirety of the crew is likely to be instantly knocked out. The commander optics also count as a weak spot for HEAT overpressure damage, therefore it is possible to destroy Striker in ATGM duel by hitting it directly.
It is possible to take HEAT shots frontally with the launcher, but it can quickly backfire, should enemy shot land at a bad angle. HE shells in general instantly obliterate Striker, unless hit the launcher from the back. HESH is less dangerous than HE, but it will likely destroy the crew even without overpressure damage, if explosion reaches the roof. Artillery strike may fail to destroy the tank if it landed somewhere in front of it, but any close side shot has a chance of instantly decimating the crew.
Missile launcher is also often rendered completely broken if hit by such shells. It is worth noting that in Arcade Battles the launcher does not "auto-repair" after such hits and, even if it does, it still malfunctions, so it must be manually repaired. The issue is worsened by the fact that malfunctioning launcher does not stop reload sequence and the tank can get set on fire on a follow-up shot, preventing repairs and requiring the operator to make a full retreat.
Armour type:
- Aluminium Alloy AA7017
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 25 mm (69°) | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm | 12.7 mm |
| Missile launcher | 50 mm (55°) | 50 mm | 50 mm (55°) | 0-10 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 25 mm | 12.7 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick
- Belly and hull undersides over the tracks are 12.7mm thick
- Outdoor ammo rack is 50 mm thick everywhere, except hinges that are 10 mm thick.
- It possible to fire HE inside of the launcher tubes, setting missile inside of it and Striker on fire, but the missile rack will not break.
- A strafing plane can fire inside of the launcher or just fire at the ammo racks and crew inside of Striker instead.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 87 | 87 | 8.3 | 270 | 363 | 32.53 | 43.73 |
| Realistic | 80 | 80 | 168 | 190 | 20.24 | 22.89 | |
The mobility of the Striker is much better than that of the Swingfire, so it can actually get to capture points along with the team's push, or it can assist in guarding the point and destroying the enemy team while rearming at a capture point.
If fully upgraded and travelling on pavement roads, the Striker can reach a peak speed of 87/80 km/h (AB/RB). It can drive as fast in any direction, so the only issue is properly turning around in the spot. This is possible because is much lighter than the Swingfire, unfortunately, the lighter hull makes it even easier for the enemy to ram it, temporarily disabling the weapon and potentially avoiding a proper Swingfire targeting.
It is important to have a high level of "driving" in crew skills. The non-aced driver will get confused if you try to drive forward or backwards and turn at the same time, especially at gear 1. Until your crew is fully trained, use neutral steering first, only then start moving, or get to gear 4-5 and then turn around. It's also worth noting that even if your driver is maxed out, at ~50 km/h you can only turn a little bit before you start losing your speed, so try to keep moving in a certain direction if trying to reach maximum speed.
The Striker is slower than most light tanks (speeds above 100 km per hour), so unless a group of fast allies are rushing a point with the Striker, there's no expectation to cap points solo, or get there first.
Improving acceleration with modifications and maintaining map awareness do play a part despite the inability to fire on move. Besides, the Striker can still desperately fire a missile and begin moving again while guiding the missile towards an enemy. Using this last resort method allows missiles to be fired while maintaining the best possible 'combat mobility'.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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It is important for the Striker to take mobility upgrades as soon as possible, because:
Brakes are very important in towns, as stopping one moment too late can push the Striker out of cover and exposed at the mercy of medium tanks. Better brakes also help in hilly maps, especially when the Striker gets flanked and needs to retaliate. The Striker cannot fire on the move, so better brakes means less time taken before the Striker can fire.
Maximum inclination and suspension upgrades allows the Striker to climb hills and mountain rocks better, and stay on them without slipping too much. The Striker will likely have issues with controlling missiles when not staying on flat terrain. But the proper mobility for getting a good sight on chokepoints is still an influential benefit, as rushing a position when it's raining missiles is intimidating for the enemy; even if the missiles don't destroy anyone.
Thermal imaging devices also help with target acquisition on large maps, but their resolution is not excellent; it limits the ability to distinguish tanks at long distances (2.5+ km)
Armaments
Main armament
Slightly to the right of commander cupola, there is the main ATGM camera optic. Because of how the camera is placed, the Striker cannot depress the camera to fire downwards as easily as the Swingfire, which may at times result in the Striker being harder to find suitable hull-down positions; unsuitable positions may partially reveal the vehicle or result in 'blind spots' where the optics simply do not have the ability to aim.
Nevertheless, some of this depression and placing issues can be compensated when using the third-person view to manually guide shots at close to medium ranges. This is possible due to commander cupola housing secondary aiming device, which can turn around freely, giving the tank more aiming options.
Additionally, the Striker's missiles represent a significant improvement in manoeuvrability; both increasing their effectiveness at close ranges (where previously the Swingfire was almost incapable of firing) and improving longer-range tracking of moving targets.
When firing these at medium ranges, it's important to keep in mind the same 'swing' in the missile as the Swingfire - since when they're fired at an upwards angle, the missile will correct its trajectory downwards.
The more the missile speeds up, the higher is the likelihood of overshooting in a sharp turn. Where necessary, smooth the missile's trajectory by gently guiding it from its initial firing angle to ensure it doesn't hit any raised obstacles on the way to its target.
Since missiles are launched upwards, the semi-automatic guidance system expects targets to be at least 100 metres away, so if the enemy is closer than that, it's suggested to aim at the ground near to them.
Reloading the Swingfires
While it might appear that the Striker will reload all five missiles simultaneously after the rack is emptied, it actually reloads one at a time.
Do note, that the reload process is split into 2 parts: "autoloader" loading a missile, which takes about 4.5 seconds and can be prevented by launching a missile, and missile activation which takes 0.65 to 0.5 seconds. The autoloader reload cannot be sped up, so try to remember about it and let autoloader load the next missile before firing again.
This can lead to an advantage in Arcade battles, as the ammo can be portrayed as limitless since tubes generally reload while guiding the missiles to the target. However, full ammo rearm outside of capture point after spending all missiles in AB takes about 50 seconds, and the missiles cannot be used too recklessly as it still takes at least 5 seconds to reload one launcher.
While rearming, launchers still "reload", which means you can fire at will after rearm sequence is finished.
If you are rearming inside of a capture point and have less than 5 missiles, then they get "reloaded" immediately, however, though rearm itself is not interrupted by the Striker firing, it is longer than reload and takes about 8 to 10 seconds. Rearming inside of capture points in AB can also grant more than 1 missile if you start to rearm before using the last missile. This rearms entire ammo pool immediately, but having a steady aim is still required, as it is also generally unsafe to do, as capture points rarely provide any cover by themselves.
In Realistic Battles, this advantage is less important since the Striker only has 10 shots, and if a missile in the rack is hit, it will explode all of the ammo in the launcher, leaving the Striker with even less. It also rearms only one missile per cycle on capture points in RB.
When unlocking Mk.2 missiles, keep in mind that while they give you a penetration edge over heavy tanks, you can only have 30 of them per battle (Arcade battles). Should you waste all of them, the Striker becomes almost complete useless. This is especially important in AB, because Strikers can get used to a literally unlimited ammo pool and suddenly find themselves unable to fire and rearm - if you plan to live forever or going to menace and halt the enemy team rather than go tank hunting, then you might resort to just using Mk.1 instead.
In short: Learn to be careful with your missiles; if you're not confident, practice the Striker's aim in AB and abstain from RB or don't use Mk.2 missiles until able to control the missiles properly - having a wasteful attitude to missiles or missing shots will force a constant rearming period at a capture zone.
| BAe Swingfire ATGM | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 10 | N/A | N/A | Two-plane | 18.65 | 18.65 | 22.64 | 25.04 | 26.64 | 0.65 | 0.57 | 0.53 | 0.50 |
| Realistic | 12.60 | 12.60 | 15.30 | 16.92 | 18.00 | ||||||||
Notes:
- Turret, in the case of Striker, is represented by cameras (optics). The faster they move, the more responsive missiles become.
- Launcher has a dead zone of 10 m in front of the vehicle. If Striker is not standing on flat terrain, then the dead-zone is extended further below vehicle (generally up to 50 m).
- Automatic guidance system has a soft dead-zone of about 100 m, which results in an inability to hit the enemy if the reticle is simply pointed at them. Point reticle into the ground near an enemy to hit or use indirect attack technique.
- Reloading only happens for one tube at a time. If the weapon is broken, then reloading is stopped to prevent potential ignition on follow-up shots. If out of ammo, the reload will still happen so when fully rearmed, all racks are ready to fire again.
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 | 535 |
| BAe Swingfire Mk.2 | ATGM | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| BAe Swingfire | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 37.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,470 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
| BAe Swingfire Mk.2 | ATGM | 250 | 4,000 | 37.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,470 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
- Missiles are launched upwards with initial velocity of about 89 m/s
- Mk.1 model of the missiles, that are used on Striker, is different from ones used in the Swingfire, despite having the same name. It has better maximum velocity being 250 m/s. It also has a better turn rate, though it still has some drag, when forced to take sharp turns at high speed
- The Mk.1 and Mk.2 BAe Swingfire missiles are not different from each other in any way but penetration, which allows Mk.2 to penetrate heavy tanks at extreme angles and destroy ERA shields more efficiently. The price is, however, is that you can only have 30 of Mk.2 missiles per battle (Arcade battles).
- ATGM can overpenetrate fuel tanks, which are often used to protect ammo racks. However it can also overpenetrate certain parts of tanks and leave them without doing any damage - be cautious and try to do direct hits exactly where it hurts
- The missiles can cause overpressure damage, but only if hit enemy tank in a weakspot
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 5 (+5) | 7 (+3) | 0 (+10) | No |
Notes:
- Missiles are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 5 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
- Simply not firing will move missiles from racks 1 and 2 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
- Missiles are fired from right to left when looking from behind
Machine guns
Not much to be said about the machine gun as it barely does anything against highly armoured targets. So use the machine gun to remove fences since hitting anything with the Striker slows it down considerably. Fighting planes with this machine gun is not suggested, it's easier to just fire ATGM at them and hope they care enough to disengage, but it can be optionally done in RB in an attempt to damage some critical component on the aircraft or rotatory wing. - With a hint of luck, is possible to hit the pilot or damage the vehicle enough to make it crash.
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Light helicopters like the Alouette (Family) are really vulnerable to the high rate of fire of the L37A1, wait for them! |
| 7.62 mm L37A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,500 (100) | 650 | -10°/+50° | ±180° |
Usage in battles
The Striker should be seen as an extremely mobile support platform. It can pose serious intimidation to any enemy thanks to the powerful Swingfire missiles, however, is equally vulnerable against most enemy tanks or planes.
Moving around
Find buildings, teammates, hills, or rocks that are as tall as the hull of Striker, then proceed to snipe with the ATGMs - Use the machine gun only for destroying fences and against planes. In other words "Be sneaky and shoot at the range".
In realistic battles, if you have the Thermal vision modification installed, you can use your thermal scope to "scan" the surroundings for hostile snipers and "bush campers", the advantage of this system; it is possible to even use it during the day. Driving out in the open will not end well for the Striker unless the enemy has someone else to shoot. Use the smokescreen to cover the Striker (or allies) from enemy snipers while they opening fire on someone else.
In extreme situations, the Striker can be put into risk in a flanking tactic by driving straight to cover inside of enemy territory (preferably at the start of the match in RB), hoping that nobody expects missiles launching within "their" part of the map and ruining their plans.
It is possible to make fast emergency stop by crashing into obstacles or other tanks when necessary. Make sure to not crash with just one track, since it will break it, especially if driving above 40 km/h.
Combat tactics
There are several examples of this Flanking/Ambushing tactic:
As the right-side team on the "Vietnam" map, the Striker cannot hope to take hold of the C capture point, as the left-side team has an indefensible advantage over that capture point. Even the idea of it is so unthinkable, that almost nobody checks the river near to town (and even if they do, using both smoke launchers can give enough breathing space to get past them), so the Striker can dash to the river entrance of C cap point, which is exactly the size of the Striker and is also heavily fortified from every direction, to destroy the entire enemy team right there, as it tries to leave C.
Not only the chances of success are quite high, but the heavily aggravated enemy team will probably come straight at the Striker's position leaving them prey of Striker's teammates sniping in the back.
As the south-side team in "American Desert", it is possible to use the road to reach max speed and then fall off the hill straight into the cover below, then immediately proceed to fire at the enemy team in enfilading.
There is a high chance of being shot mid-air or breaking the tracks due to fall damage, however, sometimes this idea is just rare enough to work, and if they fail to stop the Striker in time, it leaves the entire enemy team at Striker's mercy. Note that this rush and flank tactic is not feasible without a spaded vehicle, as it's significantly harder to hit a Striker when it is driving at 50-87 km/h, compared to 30-60. A weaker suspension may stop the Striker from moving altogether after hitting any bumps on a road, weaker tracks tend to break easier, and so on.
Remember, it is not needed to go that far into enemy lines to ambush the enemy team; use your imagination and teamwork to do more damage. Retreating away or imposing a "threatening presence" next to capture point is generally a much more viable tactic unless trying to take a last stand against the entire enemy squad.
Teamwork
Striker excels at holding chokepoints and indirect horizontal missile fighting, so just give the enemy something to think about by firing 1-2 missiles at the corner of their cover, then use their confusion or doubt to get closer and adjust missile aim, then blow them up.
If they try something as rushing without a smokescreen, show no mercy and fire all launchers at will, until they are disabled or destroyed.
Having a scouting light tank working with the team to actually mark the enemy through walls and smokes is best. Having someone to draw attention from the Striker, like a Chieftain tank, is even better, as nobody normally prioritizes the bland Striker, especially if next to a bunch of scarier, fearsome teammates. Avoid using them as a shield at 9.3+, as APFSDS which can go through multiple tanks is used there very often; if not always.
In case the situation is such that the Striker must hurriedly capture the point or protect allies immediately, the Striker can dash in and use any suitable combat cover, then immediately fire on the enemy. In case the opponent is not in visual range, either because of how far they are, or there are simply too many of them for precise targeting, in arcade mode, the Striker still can select/target the specific opponent and hold the right mouse button, or simply hold right mouse button (by default controls) as the mouse aiming is dragged near them, to activate automatic aim. This allows the Striker to semi-precisely fire missiles on the faraway enemy without manual aiming nor the gunner's scope to make a quick hull shot.
This does not really help against foes that are in the automatic guidance dead zone (100 m or out of camera sight) or have cover against the missile path. It also does not help against foes which move, unless the sniper scope is manually aimed at them.
You don't have such options in realistic and simulator battle, however, in RB it's much safer to use sniper scope since opponents do not automatically spot you across the map there unless they use a thermal scope.
When choosing a sniping point, aim for certain criteria to be flexible if trying to make a difference:
- Can this help at holding control point from here? Can the Striker destroy the enemy before they can run away?
- Is it fortified to a point it's impossible to take out the Striker without heavy enemy losses or air support?
- Can the Striker control more than one direction from here? If not, is this the only really important capture point on the map?
- (In RB) Can the Striker rearm fast there?
- (In AB) Is retreat possible, or enemy snipers will lock down the position completely soon after your arrival?
A Mozdok defensive point. Note that the Striker can control the entire front-line and can decimate anyone on B point. There is nothing enemy team can do about it, but attempt to flank the Striker. The Striker can also pop smoke and escape to B, in case it is flanked, air support incoming, or in the need to rearm.
Positioning
Sometimes, a well-chosen cover can be a difference between complete defeat and victory. A direct attack on B capture point on American Desert sounds completely desperate for a normal ATGM carrier. However, one can use ATGM to damage buildings to create a perfect firing position for themselves. Remember, buildings that didn't collapse entirely after being hit by ATGM generally cannot be shot through by AP shells anymore.
In the case of American Desert, the ruins are often high enough to protect even the missile launcher entirely.
The automatic guidance system in Arcade can often aim through ruins and any tank behind them can be aimed at directly, including tanks behind other houses, as almost every cover around you is often completely destructible or does not protect well against repeated ATGM attacks from top. Even to reach the Striker at some positions, the enemy has to go through 1 to 3 alleyways while being under heavy missile barrage. If necessary, in Arcade Battles an entire city block can be levelled down over time to increase Striker's control zone.
However, do not get too impudent, as it is still possible to snipe the Striker through street openings, and so the positioning and map awareness is the key.
Surviving counterattacks
The Striker's noisy actions will draw attention, so expect to be bombarded by artillery almost constantly. Standing under artillery fire is a bad idea, but at some point it will be required to tough it out, hoping the blasts or shrapnel won't end the Striker and then focus at stopping whatever called the artillery, as enemy tanks probably will come after the bombarded area. Keep in mind that it has fewer chances of hitting the Striker on mountain rocks and other unorthodox types of cover, especially if close to several covers at once.
If someone is rushing towards the Striker's position, keep calm and turn as much attention as possible to the direction of assault. Weak machine guns have problems disabling the Striker's weapon system from the front, and your priority is medium tanks, so medium French, Soviet, Japanese and any heavy tanks are a priority.
In case the enemy breaks the Striker's weapon, remember that Neutral steering turn on flat terrain (at 0km/h) does not prevent field repair of weapons, so simply keep turning towards enemy and hope for the best. In case you got high ground, you may resist even BMP-2's and similar autocannon fire, regardless of the rate of fire. They rely on it too much sometimes, giving you or your teammates just enough time to destroy them before they decided to launch ATGM at you.
Even when a enemy destroyed Striker, you still have indirect control over the missile for a few seconds. Ignore the "you were destroyed" screen and keep guiding it into them, or don't move the mouse, if you are sure it's onto them, or it will flinch.
Last stand failure: Operator failed to destroy even one of the enemy tanks with 6 shots because he panicked. After that, he tried to run to cover, exposing vehicle's side to one of the opponents and is ultimately destroyed by a third opponent, because striker cannot fire ATGM while moving, only guide them. Moral: If caught in open - fight till the bitter end.
Last stand success: Despite being severely damaged, striker managed to hide all vital points in between damaged cistern and wooden logs, minimizing chances of being obliterated by massive artillery barrage, being shot to the hull, or rammed to smithereens, and proceeded to fire at incoming enemy in cold blood, despite being alone in literal hell. Moral: even if the entire enemy team fires onto the position, as long as the player remains calm, the Striker can survive or destroy most of them before perishing.
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Overcoming dead zones and other weaknesses of a vehicle:
Since Striker is unable to fire in sniper mode without exposing itself, most enemies will have to be attacked indirectly regardless of range. This may seem extremely harsh at longer ranges, however, when the turret loses direct sight on the target, but not the missile, the missiles are then controlled by movements of the turret (therefore, directly guided by the mouse, not by the targeting reticle.). While the window of opportunity is very small, BAe Swingfire missiles are very slow and mobile, they can be directed wherever necessary, as long as your camera can see it, negating sniper aim disadvantage by some extent. Regaining full control over missile will send it into a crazy spiral and/or towards the targeting reticle, so try to avoid it, unless the Striker's position is suddenly compromised.
Mostly this kind of attack is done in third-person view, as using sniper mode is way too dangerous. Sniper mode is used to aim over objects or terrain by sending missile into the sky and then very quickly aiming at the enemy tank behind a hill with your crosshairs. Success relies purely on user's ability to aim at targets they can barely see. The minimum of 800 m range is also preferable to ensure that missile will arrive at the enemy, so it works best on plains or in AB.
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Since in RB Striker is limited to firing only where its sniper crosshairs can point at directly (forward and to the right), and there are often issues with missile behavior when using other tanks as cover in both RB and AB, consider switching main weapons after firing ATGM. The idea is to lock main sniper camera next to commander cupola by looking as far to the left as possible and fire ATGM, then quickly set machine gun as a primary weapon and aim at your target with it (To quickly swap between weapons bind "select primary weapon" and "select machine gun" keys in ground vehicles "weaponry" section.). This works in both third-person view and sniper seat.
Weapon swap will not help you with camera depression angles when firing forward, but it will allow you to freely attack targets when using other tanks and ruined buildings as cover (as they will not accidentally jam your control beam anymore) and in RB it will allow you to aim towards your left and even behind Striker's launcher, especially if you fire backwards off the cliff side, as machine gun will be able to point directly at your enemy. The further back you want to pull the missile in RB, the further away must be your target, starting with at least 200 m for a 90 degree turn and ending with minimum 800 m range for a guaranteed 180 degree hit, because you have to first aim towards 90 degree mark to allow missile to turn to the left, and then gently guide it behind, as otherwise it will lose the control beam. This trick will not miraculously fix all of your problems, but it will make you even more flexible in AB and will allow you to control RB Striker in a way similar to AB Striker.
All of this allows the Striker to attack the enemy from extremely advantageous angles, however there is a limit to what one can do. For example, this way of firing allows Striker to attack enemy behind steep hills, but adds another problem - there are still dead zones (because of launcher's placement and turret's camera's inability to look down) and also blind spots, because it is hard to see what the missiles are heading towards (due to how camera works and the angle of missile's launch), and "directing" missile still moves the camera, usually into the ground, obscuring direct vision. To overcome this and become even stronger, activate "relative camera control" in the "control-tank-view in battle - Ground (y/x axis)".
For specific settings and control explanations relate to the screenshot in media section below.
Basically, this will temporarily detach the camera from the centre reticle by a certain degree as mouse viewing does. Be extremely careful when using this option because it makes the Striker specifically designed for close or ultra-long-range combat or battles at certain heights, and the camera must have a quick reset in case anything unexpected happens. In case everything goes wrong, the Striker still can swap to use sniper mode, as it's unaffected by camera modifiers and will still guide missiles straight into the crosshairs.
- Specific enemies worth noting
Other ATGM launchers: Don't fight them directly at close range, it will be foolish. Instead, bait enemy closer to cover, then just destroy them by firing over it. Another way is to just set them on fire and let them burn, there is nothing they can possibly do about it themselves.
Light tanks and SPAA: As fun as it may be to trigger them by firing all over their cover, they still can destroy the Striker easily and have enough speed and mobility to actually do that. Let them ignore the Striker and do their business, though keep an eye on them. If they try something sneaky - destroy them. If it's possible to hit them in a weak spot within the first two shots to trigger overpressure damage - do it.
Soviet tanks: Aim for the hull, as it usually destroys or immobilizes them. Aiming for right (their left) side is taking out the gunner and is generally better for self-defense, however a direct hit on left side (their right) will likely overpenetrate fuel tanks and ignite their ammo rack. They are also more dangerous than German ones, so prioritize them over others.
MBTs with autocannon coaxial (mainly French): They can penetrate your commander cupola and sides with their coaxial weapon from any angle at 100 m, so try to not expose them, without exposing the front of the hull, so they have something to fire at and don't get any better ideas. Spending your ammo fast makes side shots less lethal since coaxial autocannons seem to not have explosive filler, and if they don't hit your crew or ammo directly, the damage is minimal.
Helicopters: In case the Striker provokes half of the enemy team and didn't succumb to artillery, they will probably send one of these flying birds directly at the Striker's location. If they have ATGM, immediately hide behind some tall cover and fire back with a missile. If they are too far away, there is not much the Striker can do and if actually targeted should try to empty their launcher and turtle up using launcher as a shield to protect the fragile hull from ATGM. Rockets can destroy the Striker as well if the pilot manages to carpet-bomb the position, so helicopters should be prioritized as a target and a threat.
Attack planes: While bombers generally approach their targets directly, can be shot down with ATGM, and their bombs generally make enough noise to notice them and dodge, attackers at 8.3+ are extremely fast, manoeuvrable and can suddenly carpet-bomb your vehicle with rockets more than once. Do not show them the sides of the Striker, and try to not let them fire rockets precisely from the top, by hiding in smokes.
9.7-10.7 tanks: If you took the Striker to endgame battle, make sure you never get hit. One hit, even by default ammo, can break the missile launcher almost 100% of the times. Avoid being sniped at all costs, as even a glancing hit to commander cupola might explode entire vehicle. Also avoid driving next to your teammates, since almost everyone uses APFSDS at that point, and those shells can penetrate straight through teammates and hit you. Take notes on which tanks have ERA and NERA armour. For example, around 10.0 M1 Abrams and IPM1 have so much NERA that attacking them with missiles from the front is extremely hard and time-consuming (Though their hull sides are still weak), and the Challenger Mk.3 has enough ERA to survive 2 critical hits. But in Realistic battles, these two classes of tanks are your allies, and rest of nations generally have NERA only in the turret, while some factions have not even nearly enough to stop direct hit, so even limited ammo is not that much of an issue. Because of that, you can often indirectly attack enemy hull to destroy most opponents 1-2 hits, you still can break one track and finish them off with quick follow-up side shot, as they topple over, you can even try to hit their turret or engines from top to set them on fire. When going to 10.7 , consider that while MK.2 missiles aren't tandem, like in case of Shturm-S, they prove effective enough to destroy T-80U, which on practice cannot be destroyed completely with MK.1. It's also worth noting, that many players try to skip 8.0-9.0 really fast and either don't know what to do with you or just don't understand what NERA does, so they may be extremely startled or scared and avoid attacking you directly after you destroyed or heavily damaged their party.
- Counter-tactics
Don't attack the enemy's position without artillery support and smoke screens. If Striker is using a single fortified position and can't move, an option is to fire smoke shells at it to not only protect oneself but blind it all together, rendering its user unable to guide missiles by experience or guessing. (just make sure they don't have friendly scout vehicles around, otherwise, there still is a chance they will be able to guide missiles towards a covered vehicle.)
If it only exposes its missile racks, fire at it, preferably with explosives (HE might destroy it outright, HESH and HEAT might hit a weakspot and cause overpressure damage), APFSDS, or 30 mm autocannons with at least 80 mm of penetration. Usually, the tubes on your left (their right) fire first and are already empty, so initially aim for the right (their left) to set them on fire. After breaking the weapons, destroy the hull. Keep attacking missile launcher if unable to hit the hull or commander cupola to force it to retreat.
The front of Striker may be surprisingly resistant to machine gun fire, however, if in possession of high calibre machine guns, move around Striker and penetrate its back or sides with them. If you have autocannons as a coaxial weapon (which are ~23 mm and insufficient to damage launchers), attempt to damage commander's cupola, which has much worse protection. 7.62 mm machine gun does nothing to it even point-blank, so do not use those on it. Fire it at its missiles instead.
If attacks didn't set Striker on fire, it will be at least 9 seconds before the Striker repaired the launcher back. Firing at launcher again will reset the "field repair" timer, so some time can be taken after a successive hit. However, remember, that Striker normally doesn't suffer critical damage when hit in a missile launcher and its crew might be able to complete "manual repair" if not prevented, allowing launcher to repair completely even under fire. Try firing at different tubes, as it may set the vehicle on fire if actual ammo is hit and prevent it from retaliating. Pushing the vehicle around also resets both repair timers.
It has problems firing at the opposite side of the same hill if it's too steep. It will not help destroy a Striker, but at least the location is somewhat safe until they found a proper firing angle. In RB, if Striker operator is not used to shift towards commander optics to aim outside of main scope capabilities, it is incapable of firing to the left or behind. It is preferable to stay closer than 400 m in case if they do switch scopes, as otherwise Swingfires definitely will turn back and hit you.
In case if you absolutely have to attack it directly, you can at least try to stop its ATGM with MG suppressive fire, but a good enough bullet screen will take at least 4 7.62 mm MG at once, there are no guarantees it will work, and, if it has high ground, it still can launch them at such angle, that you will be unable to do anything.
It's best to attack from many directions at the same time, preferably from behind. Even better if the operator didn't see it coming. Sniping and terrain-based flank are working better in arcade battle, since there they only have vision in front of their driver and in direction they point camera at, but at great range, while sneak attacks from any direction are more reliable in realistic battle, though they themselves are much harder to notice in time. Use of thermal scope is recommended in order to find it or its missiles. If you just have numbers on your side, and your team is more or less cooperative, even the Striker can be overwhelmed. A coordinated simultaneous push of 6 tanks can destroy it, albeit at a high cost. Do not attack it one by one - that is exactly what they want, as it gives them time to reload in between shots.
Don't forget that it can fire from any sort of cover. Aside from already mentioned steep hills, its firing potential is only limited by the operator's skill and in arcade mode it can even lead missiles behind itself to engage you without moving at all.
The SPAAs with absurdly high fire rate, like Vulcan and Shilka can fire at Striker and destroy vehicle without even aiming. Problem is, it's unlikely that Striker will just let them drive up to itself, and these SPAA cannot defend themselves against other tanks at all, so chances of them ever fighting are very low.
The Striker must stop before firing, so if surprising one - destroy it before it hit the brakes, make them panic and try to push the vehicle around, ultimately dragging them into a wall. If the vehicle profile is low enough, a blind spot could be created and force the Striker to attempt a miracle shot, which is inaccurate and will not work, unless there is enough room for a missile to turn around. This provides an opportunity to take a free direct shot at the crew compartment. One can even use disabled Striker as a shield against their own teammates.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great mobility in all directions once fully upgraded, thanks to the reverse gearbox
- 5 powerful ATGMs ready for quick succession firing when necessary
- When defending a capture zone, ammunition is constantly reloaded; allowing to fire ATGMs almost indefinitely, unlike ATGM carriers with longer rearms, like Shturm-S
- Hull mounted smokescreens provide adequate visual protection; specially during retreats
- Often underestimated, unseen or left unattended, giving the Striker a chance to repair and strike back; all because of the small and vulnerable size
- Availability of thermal imaging; packed with the great optics allows for a proper target acquisition
- Frontal armour can actually withstand HMG and even some 20 mm cannons; modules placing also improve frontal protection
Cons:
- Highly vulnerable to HMG, cannons, air attacks, artillery, ramming, and HE/HESH shells
- Optics location is a worse aiming set up when compared to Swingfire ; the top and turret of the Striker will often need to be exposed to fire the ATGMs; Optics can be targeted with any explosives to instantly destroy the Striker
- ATGM rack is impossible to lower; an impact to the ATGM rack leaves the Striker with little to no ammo left
- Modest ATGMs count can be quickly depleted without trigger discipline; in Arcade battles automatic rearm is available anywhere, but more ATGMs per tank are also often required
- Despite a quick reload, the ATGMs are loaded into the rack one by one; making the Striker vulnerable to multiple enemies after depletion of the rack
- Swingfire ATGMs are noisy and will give away the Striker's position in close quarters
History
The FV102 Striker was an anti-tank wire-guided missile carrier which belonged to the CVR(T) family, developed for the British Army during the Cold War. The Striker had five missile launcher boxes and carried a total of 10 Swingfire missiles (5 in the launchers and 5 reloads). It weighed around 8.3t and was powered by the Cummings BTA 5.9-litre diesel engine which could output 190 hp. Its top speed was 81 km/h (50 mph) forwards and backwards.
Development
The Striker was first developed in 1975 for the British Army. The chassis was produced in the West Midlands, England. Other components were sourced from other suppliers, Fairey Engineering manufactured the missiles and so did the British Aircraft Corporation. The missiles were released by the launcher at the back on the Striker and had a range of 4,000 m, the commander could correct the trajectory if it was necessary. However, it had to be reloaded manually from the outside. It was also equipped with a 7.62 mm L37A1 machine gun (2,500 rounds).
It was first powered by the Jaguar 4.2-litre petrol engine (standard car engine) and later replaced by the Cummings BTA 5.9-litre diesel engine. It consisted of 3 crew, the gunner who sat on the right side, commander and driver who sat on the left side (the driver sat next to the engine). The front armour was 25 mm thick while the side and back were 12 mm thick.
Service
The Striker first entered service in 1976 with the Royal Artillery of the BAOR but was later transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps. It saw combat in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom in 2003 where it managed to destroy an Iraqi T-55.
The FV102 Striker ended service in 2005 with the introduction of the Javelin missile which replaced the Swingfire missile.
Media
- Skins
- Images
Examples of "cover busting" and dead zone duels (point cursor at the image to get an explanation):
One of your general duties as Striker is removing hull-down opponents out of their cover. Easy vertical shots like this should be the main aim of your practice at the beginning. The better you get at this, the fewer opponents will dare to stand near to you. Later on, you will learn to do that at long range as well.
After a while you will meet opponents who simply do not fear you, or attack you directly out of desperation. It's much better to destroy your opponents indirectly, however, you should be ready to immediately counterattack in any situation. As seen in this picture, Striker managed to immediately counterattack XM-1, and even destroyed Warrior, while at it. The key at close range duels is aiming in between yourself and opponent, then correcting the shot.
After a while, you will have to learn, how to attack enemy indirectly, by launching a missile in one direction and dragging them into another. This is necessary to attack people, who think they can hide from Striker. Play it like any vehicle in RB - look around using the camera, spot enemy, launch missile forward and drag it at their location. With a bit of practice, you will be able to hit the enemy behind rocks and walls. Then, you will learn to attack even through small gaps in between bridge beams, holes in the house's rooftops, ETC.
If without modifications or prefer something more fortified, choose unorthodox covers like the C choke point on Tunisia. It's hard to see it coming, the Striker can fire upon anyone trying to drive around C point, Artillery almost never fires on rocks, there are covers from planes with the mountains nearby, and there are only 2 entrances to this hideout, which are hard to even get to. However, like with all good positions for Striker, the team has to protect the right flank, as the Striker can get shot if the enemy team controls the B area or use river entrance to flank.
Alternatively, the Striker can attack capture point itself and use buildings as a shield (like this bridge). Use the missile's mobility to attack everywhere and push the enemy back. This kind of attack is very risky and reaction-based and tables can quickly turn. Immediately seek a hiding place as the enemy can pinpoint artillery onto the Striker's location.
If you know that some capture point is important, but you can't possibly get there first, you can use your speed to rush and intercept enemy from best firing angle you know. Most likely this spot will have horrible cover for your weapon, so watch out for snipers. Simply crash into nearest cover and proceed to fire onto the enemy. Anything, that restricts enemy mobility, should be noted when choosing a position.
Because BMP checked out the castle's surroundings with its improved optics, Striker could safely drive into capture point and score the first strike. Standing straight on capture point is generally unsafe, but there are exceptions. In this case, even if the position is somehow compromised, Striker still has full ammo and can break out to its iconic hiding spot on top of the castle, where it's almost invincible.
Never forget, that War Thunder is a team based game, and even if you fortify yourself in best possible sniper position in entire game, that only you can use, there is always a possibility of being attacked and destroyed by light and medium tank combo, if nobody watches your back. Do not lower your guard, when you are alone.
For those, who trust their teammates, even slight ground elevation and random tank hull can be used to stop the enemy assault. The enemy can fire at the commander's cupola, but due to elevation and basic cover it's very hard to do, and proper display of Striker's overwhelming firepower will stall the enemy team. Use manual repair and curve missiles everywhere, so the enemy has no chance of capturing the point directly.
Press for detailed settings of the view in battle.
An example of hiding behind buildings in town. As long as your aim is true, there is no way the enemy team takes over B.
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- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same missile
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
- [Devblog] FV102 Striker: Five Missile Death Punch
- Custom-made sight for Swingfire/Striker by the user Schindibee at WT: Live
| Britain tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Infantry tank derivatives | Archer · Gun Carrier (3-in) |
| Light tank derivatives | Alecto I |
| M10 Achilles | Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.) |
| Centurion derivatives | FV4005 · Conway |
| ATGM | Swingfire · Striker |
| Other | Tortoise · ▄M109A1 |
| Canada | QF 3.7 Ram |
| South Africa | G6 · ZT3A2 |
