War Thunder – A6E TRAM RB Guide

If you spend hard-earned cash on the TRAM and are now regretting it because you can’t get it to work consistently in RB, this guide might set you on the right path.

Getting the Most Out of A6E TRAM Intruder in RB

A nice, consistent way to get RP and Silver Lions even in lost games. This method worked well for me after trying literally every possible bomb, rocket, flare, missile and gunpod combination in the game.

There are MANY fun ways to use this plane. This one just has the advantage of being pretty consistent, and easy to implement, not requiring crazy keybinds or learning advanced game systems.

Expected Results

With prem. account you can get 10k RP and 50k Silver lions per match if you manage to get 1 base and 1 kill with missiles. You can easily make twice as much on a good won match. If you manage to succeed with bombing and getting 1 kill you will not get much less than that.

Your Loadout

There are two OP capabilities of this plane: sheer carry load, and AIM-9Ls.

Capitalize on this by maximizing TNT eq. on board, and taking as many AIM-9’s as possible. You have two options here:

• 2xAIM-9Ls. Outer side pylons.
• 2x2000lbs bomb. Inner side pylons.
• 3x1000lbs bomb. In the center pylon.

Or

• 4xAIM-9Ls. Outer and inner side pylons.
• 3x1000lbs bomb. Center pylon.

If you feel confident with AIM-9s, take more, player kills are by far the best RP/SL source. Otherwise having more bombs will net your more consistent results over time.

Plan of Action

TL;DR:

• Stay low to gain speed
• Once you have speed, start gaining altitude
• Drop bombs on Bases or Bunkers
• Launch missiles at planes below
• Return to base

Detailed Description

• Right after takeoff stay low, and wait until your speed reaches about 800km/h. This usually takes about halfway to the battlefield.
• Aim for the side of the map where most of your team went.
• At 800km/h reached, start gaining altitude. Usually by this time you’re halfway to the target.
• By now you should be over the battlefield at around 4-6km height, with engagements happening below you. Don’t fire your missiles yet, first you need to get rid of the heavy payload.
• Drop your bombs over enemy bases. 2000lbs of bombs per base. If the bases have been eliminated (Thank you, rushing jets and F111’s) no big deal. Drop the bombs on bunker clusters, one for each.
• Now you have 2-4 missiles to distribute evenly. Fire the missiles at the best targets you can find.
• Return to base.

You likely will not have time for a second run. If you do however, you’ll likely go full AIM-9s or full gun pods for close air support and taking down AI jets, depending on who is winning and how many enemies are left.

AIM-9L Quirks

AIM-9Ls are amazing and terrible at the same time. Amazing because if you know when and how to launch they are really effective. Terrible because a target that is aware of you and has flares will dodge these missiles without much trouble.

• Fire them from above Planes have radar blind spots directly above and below, so unless your target is in a sharp turn with their wings towards you, they will likely not get a RWR warning when you lock them and fire the missile. That’s the whole point of gaining height at the beginning of a match (plus the added safety ofc.)
  
• Choose a distracted target Planes chasing other attackers on your team are perfect. Aiming missiles and guns at Mach Jesus requires lots of focus, so they won’t be looking way above and behind where you will be positioning yourself for the shot.
  
• Get a rear-aspect lock. So find a target flying away from you, rather than towards you.
  
• After getting a lock, lead your target. So you get a lock and aim where the target is going to be, similar to guns. Don’t just lock and fire instantly unless you are directly behind your target. It’s OK to lock a target going prependicular to you when you’re diving, as long as after getting a lock you lead it properly before firing.

Be CAREFUL, as AIM-9Ls will lock onto other missiles, and most of all – friendlies. Esp. if firing from above at someone chasing your teammates, it’s really easy hit your teammate instead.

Keybinds

Create a set of keybinds that simplifies your life when flying the Intruder. All you need for this loadout would be:

• Right-click to lock Air-to-Air.
• Left-click for fire Air-to-Air.
• Space to drop bombs
• Mouse thumb button to drop flares.

Personally I bind fire Air-to-Air to Ctrl+Left-click. That way I don’t have to reload keybinds every time I switch to a prop plane or take gun pods.

Training Tips

The bombing part should be easy, missile kills are a whole other story. If you struggle with this that’s pretty normal and some focused practice will help.

I’d recommend taking 4xAIM-9s, skipping bombs entirely. Gain altitude and fire from above to get a feel of what works and what doesn’t.

Took me about 2-3 weeks playing a bit after hours to finally get more confident with the missiles.

Help! A Fighter Is Chasing Me!

Ah yes, the main problem, isn’t it?

There’s no real defence against this. If a fighter wants you dead, you’re dead. You’re slower, a huge target, prone to losing wings in high-g maneouvers. You CAN defend yourself and dogfight to a certain degree but I feel this is way beyond of the scope of a basic guide.

Some games, they will go after you and that’s GG, that’s just the way it is in current RB setup.

By climbing once you get speed, you get yourself into a position where you are safest by far:

• You will see planes chasing you from miles away, there’s just no mistaking if they’re going after you or someone else.
• Anyone chasing you is making themselves a prime target. They’re distracted and high in the sky where everyone can see them clearly.
• You have the option of diving between teammates below and hoping someone picks off your attacker.

In my experience out of all possible ways to position yourself – entirely to the side, hugging the ground, getting right in the thick of it, away from your team instead of with them, hiding behind hills or in clouds etc., this one yields the best results over many games.