- Autumn Update 2 - 17 September 2026
Air Defender ChangelogVersion 0.8.2.0This update is about how a game begins and how the enemy behaves once you meet it. Instant Action no longer buries you before your aircraft are airborne, a Peacetime start no longer plays out to the same script every time, intercepted aircraft can now refuse to turn, and Russian pilots of every type answer you on the radio. It also brings the enemy escort doctrine and tanker support from the previous batch of reports.A Slower, Smarter Start- Time To Get Airborne: In Instant Action, or whenever tension reaches Critical, the first raid now arrives after 30 to 60 game minutes depending on your experience level, instead of 15. Get an AWACS on station with two pairs of interceptors airborne and the enemy comes for you sooner. A message on the console tells you the clock is running.- A Probing First Raid: The opening raid is small, aimed at your radars and…
- Major Autumn Update - 14 September 2026
Air Defender ChangelogVersion 0.8.1.0A focused follow-up to the 0.8 release, built almost entirely from your reports. Interceptors now go back where they belong after a task, the enemy keeps fighting to the end of a campaign instead of going quiet, and the radio says the right thing about the aircraft you are looking at.Interceptors Return To Station- Back To Patrol, Not To Base: A pair pulled off a standing patrol to make an intercept now returns to that patrol once the job is done, whether it ended in a kill or an identification. Previously they would set off home instead, leaving the patrol empty for the rest of the watch.- No More Shadowing A Cleared Airliner: Once a flight has identified a civilian and cleared it, it breaks away and resumes its patrol rather than staying in formation with the airliner.- The Right Call On The Radio: A flight heading back to its patrol is no longer a…
- Major Autumn Update - 11 September 2026
Air Defender ChangelogVersion 0.8The biggest update to Air Defender since release, and everything since 0.7.0.0 is in it. Every pilot and controller has been re-voiced, interceptors now describe what they see, intercepts of formations and civilian traffic run through to a proper conclusion, airborne aircraft can be diverted to another airfield and relaunched, and fuel burn now scales with difficulty. Underneath sits a long list of fixes from your reports plus intercept procedure, radio, radar, save and performance improvements.New: Full Pilot & Controller Re-VoiceEvery radio call in the game has been re-recorded for realism.- Pilots Speak Naturally: Interceptor pilots now speak their full callsign and flight number in a single natural take, with authentic British accents, across intercept, weapons, fuel, tanker and identification calls.- Three Pilot Voices: Each sortie is assigned one o…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 23 May 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.7.0.0 - 23 May 2026 A major reliability and polish update covering interceptor behaviour, voice and radio procedure, save and load, map settings, scoring, civilian and emergency handling, and difficulty options.New: Difficulty-Scaled Fuel ConsumptionInterceptor fuel burn now adapts to your selected difficulty setting.Hard: Realistic period-accurate baseline (unchanged).Normal: Half rate — interceptor sortie endurance doubles.Easy: One-tenth rate — extended endurance for relaxed sessions.Warnings Unchanged: Joker, Bingo, PAN-PAN and MAYDAY warnings still trigger at the same fuel percentages — they just take proportionally longer to reach.Save & Load ReliabilitySaves Survive Process Kill: Saves are now written safely — closing the game (or losing power) part-way through a save no longer leaves a corrupted file behind. The previous slot's contents remain…
- Hotfix - Version 0.6.9.102 - 2 May 2026
A focused hotfix bundle covering radar reliability, Russian deception polish, and engagement procedure correctness. Radar & Track Reliability - Radar Toggle No Longer Destroys Aircraft: Switching a radar off no longer permanently removes the enemy aircraft it had been tracking. Aircraft state and radar state are now properly independent — turning the radar back on, or another sensor picking the aircraft up, correctly redisplays them on the map. - EW-Identified Raids Persist: Enemy raids spotted by EW intelligence (e.g. bombers inbound from far north of UK radar cover) no longer disappear after about 20 seconds. The radar map now keeps EW-flagged Hostile raids visible for as long as EW continues to report them. - Hostile Classification Survives Radar Cycle: Toggling a radar off and back on no longer loses a Russian spoofer's known-hostile classification. A spoofer that has been correctly…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 1 May 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.6.9.94 - May 2026 A large bundle of fixes covering campaign endings, the end-of-game summary and soundtrack, the identification procedure on Hard difficulty, Russian deception, stuck aircraft, AWACS and interceptor reliability, civilian traffic during airspace closure, and a long tail of quality-of-life issues.Campaign End & Summary Screen- Critical Campaign Won't End After The First Wave: Clearing the opening wave no longer ends a Critical campaign early — victory waits until the full assault has been spent.- "All Threats Cleared" Fires At The Right Time: The all-clear message now waits until every enemy has left the map, every inbound bomb has detonated, and any queued waves have finished spawning.- Airspace Stays Closed Until It's Really Empty: Airspace no longer reopens while escort fighters are still in the air — it waits for every enemy aircraft…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 15 April 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.6.8.49 - April 2026 This is a major update bringing enemy variety, a comprehensive intelligence reporting system, an expanded Guide panel, intercept status updates, shift handover, supply coaching, and dozens of fixes across interceptors, radar, voice, and training.New: Enemy Variety SystemEnemy aircraft now employ a wider range of deception tactics. What you see on your radar may not be what it appears. Intelligence reports from various sources across the UK will help you identify threats -- pay attention to the clues. Difficulty setting affects how challenging these encounters are to detect.New: Intel ReportsThe ASMA console now posts intelligent, data-driven reports from across the UK.- Real Aircraft Data: Every observer report -- RAF veterans, air cadets, coastguard, police, North Sea oil rig crews, ATC squadrons, GCHQ -- references the contact's a…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 27 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.6.0.1 - March 2026This is a major update bringing a completely new coaching and mentoring system, comprehensive ASMA console upgrades, training mission improvements, a hidden easter egg, and hundreds of stability and performance fixes under the hood. New: Coaching and Mentoring System Your ASMA console now acts as an intelligent mentor, giving you real-time feedback tailored to your experience level. FOR YOU Feed: A new dedicated coaching feed in ASMA delivers situation-aware tips based on what is happening in your watch. Hints scale with your XP — beginners get step-by-step guidance, experienced operators get concise reminders.Controller Handover Brief: When you start a new session or load a save, you now receive a handover brief summarising the current air picture, active sorties, fuel and weapons status, and threat assessment — just like a real cont…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 18 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.5.13.15 - March 2026Bug Fixes- Linux/Proton Display Switching: Fixed fullscreen display-mode handling so Borderless, Fullscreen, and Windowed preferences remain consistent when switching between laptop and external displays.- Resolution Selection Reliability: Graphics Settings now includes a direct selectable resolution list. On Linux/Proton, selecting a non-native resolution while in Borderless mode now automatically switches to Windowed so the selected resolution applies reliably.- Resolution Picker Usability: Moved the resolution selection layout higher on the screen for better visibility.- AWACS Redeploy Active Ops: Redeploying multiple E3 Sentry aircraft from the same base before takeoff now correctly creates a separate queued redeploy entry for each aircraft in Active Operations.- AWACS Redeploy Selection: Queued AWACS waiting on the 30-minute re…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 17 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.5.13.11 - March 2026New Features- Multi-Weapon Missile System: F3 Tornado interceptors now carry two distinct missile types — 4x Skyflash (radar-guided, Fox 1, 24nm range) and 2x AIM-9L Sidewinder (heat-seeking, Fox 2, 10nm range). Fighters use a phased engagement: firing Skyflash head-on at long range, then converting to tail chase for AIM-9L shots from behind.- Improved Missile Guidance: Missiles now use proportional navigation (predicting where the target will be) instead of flying directly at the target's current position, significantly improving hit rates against maneuvering targets.- Smart Firing Range: Fighters now account for target speed and direction when deciding to fire. Missiles won't be launched at targets that are receding too fast to catch within missile range.- Accurate Fox Calls: Radio calls now match the actual missile type — Fox 1 f…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 16 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.5.12.14 - March 2026Improvements- Community recommendation - Redeployment Preparation Time: All military aircraft now require 30 minutes of preparation before taking off when redeployed to another base. ASMA messages now indicate the departure delay.- Weapons Hot / Decision Popups: Removed (redundant) blocking popup dialogs from normal QRA intercept flow. Weapons Hot now appears as a high-priority ASMA alert instead of interrupting gameplay.Bug Fixes- Interceptor Communication Sequence: Fixed a bug where, after visual identification (Tally and PosID), Judy and all subsequent controller calls (escort, presence, show of force) would never play. Interceptors now correctly proceed through the full communication sequence.- Shadow Escalation Stability: Fixed shadow escalation getting stuck if a warning clip fails to play. Interceptors no longer keep post-war…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 13 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.5.10.2 - March 2026 New Features- Instant Action Game Mode: New main menu option that drops you straight into Critical tension with a Scared public. Bomber raids, ballistic launches, and weapons-hot rules activate immediately — no Peacetime buildup required. Perfect for players who want high-intensity action from the start.- Victory Debrief Screen: The victory screen has been replaced with a full mission debrief showing watch duration, enemy aircraft destroyed, cities struck (with timestamps and warhead yields), operator performance with tier labels, XP earned, and a summary verdict. Navigate with NEW WATCH, ENDLESS, or MAIN MENU buttons.- Defeat Debrief Screen: The defeat screen has been replaced with a full mission debrief showing civilian casualty count and UK population percentage, cities struck chronologically, operator performance rating, enemies…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 11 March 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.5.5.4 - March 2026 This is a major update introducing an entirely new Aircraft Register with real historical data, authentic airline callsigns across all traffic, a fully reworked intercept system, a moveable panel system for every panel in the game, and unified visual styling from top to bottom. Alongside these new features are significant save/load reliability improvements and dozens of bug fixes.New: Moveable Panel SystemEvery panel in the game can now be freely arranged to suit your workflow.- Moveable Panels: All panels can be dragged, resized, minimised, and pinned in all screen modes.- Layout Persistence: Your panel layout saves automatically per player profile, so your arrangement is waiting for you every session.- Edge Resizing: Drag any panel edge or corner to resize it. Resize cursors appear on hover so you always know where to grab.- Panel…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 31 January 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.4.8.12 - January 2026 New Features- QRA Launch Command: The player now has the option to choose how many (1-4) interceptors to launch and from which base.Improvements- Nimrod: Aircraft Control tab has been added and loitering orbit size reduced. Nimrod trackblocks now show fuel percentage (e.g., F65%).Bug Fixes- Pause Track Removal: A fix has been applied to stop tracks from being removed when the game is paused.- Backspace Sound Amplification: The track removal when using the backspace key no longer amplifies audio notifications.- Airport Approach Holding: Improvements have been made to EGPH and EGLL holding procedures to prevent recurring permanent hold issues.- Sortie RTB Comms: A fix has been applied to sorties in the middle of an intercept but RTB and still continue with the intercept voice procedure.- Pair Split: Pairs now RTB together instead of…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 26 January 2026
Air Defender Changelog - Version 0.4.5.7 - January 2026 This update represents a significant overhaul of core systems since version 0.3.6.3. We have focused on deepening the simulation mechanics, refining the user interface, restructuring the Critical Tension gameplay, and improving overall stability.User Interface Redesign A comprehensive UI update has been applied to improve readability, usability, and consistency across all resolutions from 1080p to 4K.Panel System OverhaulActive Operations Panel: Now a dedicated standalone panel showing all active sorties with real-time status updates. Includes jump-to-aircraft buttons, sortie filtering, and integration with the COMMS system.COMMS Panel: Radio channel buttons have moved to a dedicated right-side panel that shares space with ASMA. Click any sortie to focus on that channel's communications.Panel Responsiveness: All panels now scale pr…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 23 December 2025
Update - 23rd December 2025 - Build 0.3.6.3Hi guys! There's quite a few features and fixes in this update:Christmas Event (December 24th)Special seasonal scenario available on Christmas Eve (19:00 your time). Look North ;)Unique gameplay mechanics and festive UI elementsIf you miss it, you can launch it manually in the ASMA console, with SANTA01, but you've got to figure out the super secret authentication code. Hint: very famous singer this time of year ;)Hercules & Chinook Logistics SystemC-130 Hercules Supply Flights: New logistics system to move fuel and weapons between military airfieldsHercules fly from RAF Lyneham with ALBERT## callsignsChinook Support Flights (VORTEX##): SUP (Supply) /RDP (Redeploy) runs between basesChinooks can deliver ammunition and supplies to civilian airfields, expanding your logistics networkBaseline fuel/weapons stocks added to all military airfieldsActi…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 10 December 2025
Update - 10th December 2025 - Build 0.3.5TankersFixed the need for repeated clicks to place a tanker track.Fixed a new bug with tankers taking off with less than 100% AF (Available Fuel for Air-To-Air Refueling).
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 6 December 2025
Hi guys!Some pretty significant updates and fixes applied. Hopefully these will make your experience much better.There's still plenty to do and I'll keep you updated with the latest fixes and new features.Cheers!Allan.Update - 6th December 2025 - Build 0.3.4New Features- Tanker Fuel Management: Tankers now track their own flight fuel (F%) separately from offload fuel (AF%). UI shows both values so you know when tankers need to RTB vs when they're empty for receivers.- Codewords Reference: Added "Codewords" tab to Help menu with NATO/RAF brevity codes (BANDIT, BOGEY, FOX ONE/TWO/THREE, JUDY, TALLY, SPLASH, PAN PAN, MAYDAY, and more).- Jump To Camera: New ">" button in Active Operations quickly centers the camera on any aircraft.- Aircraft Fuel Display: Fuel percentages now show for all active aircraft (interceptors, tankers, AWACS) in the Assets panel.Performance Improvements- Major FPS…
- Bug Fixes & Additions - 30 November 2025
Hi guys!Couple of significant issues noticed today, but we jumped right on it. There's still plenty to do and I'll keep you updated with the latest fixes and new features.Cheers!Allan.Update - 4th December 2025 - Build 0.3.2New Features- Version number now displayed on the start screenChanges- Firing missiles at civilian aircraft now increases Public State (+100)Bug Fixes- Fixed major memory leaks - game no longer uses excessive RAM when left running for extended periods- Fixed enemy aircraft persisting into training missions after exiting Combat Ready
