DCS: Cold War Germany - update 2025

[MAESTR0]

Hallo, ihr Jagdflieger!

We're returning to the DCS: Cold War Germany map. A small but action-packed update is in the works, adding new locations, important tactical objectives, and new services to the map:

Цитата

20 airfields: Kiel, Malmo Airport, Cologne Bonn Airport, Kastrup Airport, Falkenberg Air Base, Brandis Air Base, Neuhardenberg Air Base, Brand Air Base, Nörvenich Air Base, Nordholz Air Base, Gutersloh, Bornholm, Oranienburg, Chojna, Dusseldorf, Heidelberg, Landstuhl Army Heliport, Mainz Finthen, Szczecins Goleniow.

6 Highway Strip: Perwenitz, Zöllschen, Thurland, Sprendlingen, Sittensen, Adelsheim.

6 big cities: Cologne, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Bremerhaven, Copenhagen, Malmo.

25 unique objects: Cologne-Bonn Airfield Terminal, Anlage Mulheim-Karlich nuclear power plant, The Ennepe Dam, Damm der Sorpetalsperre, Einkaufsbahnhof Köln Hbf Railway Station, Hohenzollern Railway Bridge in Cologne, Burg Desenberg Fortress, Bremen Cathedral, Bremen Town Hall, Hardthöhe (Federal Ministry of Defense), Stadthaus Bonn, Colonius (tower in Cologne), St. Cunibert's Church in Cologne, St. Peter's Church Martin's in Cologne, Poppelsdorf Castle in Bonn, Cologne Cathedral, Leipzig Railway Station, Anzeigerhochhaus, Amalienborg in Copenhagen, City_hall in Copenhagen, Fredericks Church in Copenhagen, Frederik 5 monument in Copenhagen, Malme Water Tower in Sweden, Malmo Castle in Sweden.
In addition, we will make a Valentine bunker for submarines for the naval base.

During the Cold War, Bonn became the temporary capital of West Germany. We've added the city, including the famous "Bonn Pentagon" —the complex of buildings housing the Federal Ministry of Defense, a key military objective in any conflict scenario. We've also added the 72-meter-tall Stadthaus (city administration) building and the Poppelsdorf Palace.

The Federal Ministry of Defense ("Bonn Pentagon")

Stadthaus

Poppelsdorf Palace

Valentin Submarine Facility
We've recreated one of the most impressive and macabre sites of the Third Reich—a gigantic concrete bunker on the banks of the Weser. It was the largest fortified U-boat facility in Germany. 
Most of the roof is around 4.5 meters (15 ft) thick, but part of it is 7 meters (23 ft) thick.
In the realities of the Cold War, this monumental complex could have served as a highly secure storage facility or a secret factory. A target of the highest priority.

Rostock Port
The largest port of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on the Baltic Sea. During the Cold War, it was a key hub for Soviet and East German maritime transport, a logistics hub, and a potential base for Warsaw Pact warships and submarines.

One of the key strategic targets in the update is the Ennepe Dam – a hydroelectric power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, built in the early 20th century. NATO and Warsaw Pact military doctrines considered hydraulic structures to be top-priority targets.

Industrial area with waste heaps: we've added Terricones

SA-2 Air Defense Zone: Consider deployment locations when planning missions.

Cologne-Bonn Airport (Terminal): A major hub ready to receive your aircraft.

Autobahn Runway: Using sections of highway as runways is a legendary practice. New opportunities for you. Flights to such runways require pilots with precision takeoff and landing skills.


Stay tuned, we'll show you and tell you more about the upcoming update. 
Don't forget to get your new certification! 

 

 

Edited October 25 by MAESTR0

[Rudel_chw]

Hello,

Thanks for the update report, I'm glad to have exchanged my F-15E for this map 

[corbu1]

Wow! So beautiful!

I just watched a documentary about the Valentin submarine bunker a few days ago on TV. Great it‘s soon in the germany map 

Edited October 24 by corbu1

[TheBiggerBass]

The Bonn Pentagon was commonly known as "Hardthöhe" during CW. It's still existing but large parts of Bundeswehr HQ have been moved to Berlin Bendler Block now. It probably was (and still is) a likely target for Warshaw Pact (now russian) forces.

[Jaku]

So Awesome! thank you so much Ugra!

[Volator]

Great update on the upcoming phase 2  

[Rick Mave]

Fantastic looking update. The highway strips look as if you took the details about them from my dreams. Looking forward to seeing more @MAESTR0! (maybe we can see some refinements for Pferdsfeld too, pretty please? =3 )

Edit: I believe shown off is the Sprendlingen Highway strip btw

Edited October 24 by Rick Mave

[Yurgon]

Woah, nice!

[Miro]

@MAESTR0 No Altenburg, Noblitz East Germany, in update? It was one of the largest Russian bases where MiG-29 9.12 were stationed.

Edited October 24 by Miro

[MAXsenna]

I'm out of words!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[[vFIS741] Flo]

The lane width of the highway strip and the highways in general seem about 25% too narrow. German Autobahns have 3,5m - 3,75m lane width PER LANE, meaning four lanes plus emergency lane plus space in the middle where the barrier usually stands make it at least 20m wide.

 

In this Video one can guesstimate the witdh of such a Notlandepiste. Even C-160s were able to land on them...

Looking forward to the Update! 

Edited October 25 by [vFIS741] Flo

[buur]

vor 7 Stunden schrieb [vFIS741] Flo:

The lane width of the highway strip and the highways in general seem about 25% too narrow. German Autobahns have 3,5m - 3,75m lane width PER LANE, meaning four lanes plus emergency lane plus space in the middle where the barrier usually stands make it at least 20m wide.

 

in this articel (in German) the specs for a highway landing strip are described: https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/luftwaffe/aktuelles/autobahn-notlandeplaetze-waehrend-des-kalten-krieges-5615300
 

Zitat

A typical highway emergency landing area consisted of a straight section of highway between 1,500 and 3,500 meters long, which was at least 23 meters wide, and later even 30 meters wide. 

 

[Max Thunder]

Thanks a lot! Love this map!

[Robsonek]

Best map in DCS 

[Tomcatter87]

Those pics and videos look incredibly good - I'm looking forward to this update. Love the map, keep up the great work!

[Volator]

What's interesting is that the original list for a phase 2 update included these ten airfields,

Quote

Bornholm Airport
Brand Air Base
Brandis Air Base
Cologne Bonn Airport
Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup)
Falkenberg Air Base
Malmo Airport
Nordholz Air Base
Nörvenich Air Base
Obermehler-Schlotheim Airfield

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/372012-dcs-cold-war-germany-faq/

... whereas here 20 airfields are mentioned, of which Neubrandenburg Neuhardenberg/Marxwalde was actually scheduled for phase 3

Quote

Kiel, Malmo Airport, Cologne Bonn Airport, Kastrup Airport, Falkenberg Air Base, Brandis Air Base, Neuhardenberg Air Base, Brand Air Base, Nörvenich Air Base, Nordholz Air Base, Gutersloh, Bornholm, Oranienburg, Chojna, Dusseldorf, Heidelberg, Landstuhl Army Heliport, Mainz Finthen, Szczecins Goleniow.

Additionally, there is the list of highway strips that had not been announced earlier.

Fantastic how Ugra listens to the community and includes these important airbases!

Not sure how Gutersloh made it into the list though, as this is already included in phase 1. Maybe it's a significant overhaul? A cooperation with a mod project shown here on the forums?

I am confident Ugra will also fix many of the issues in phase 1 that have been mentioned here in this forum.
 

Edited Monday at 05:13 PM by Volator

[Bremspropeller]

Neuhardenberg - that's "Marxwalde" (JG 8 ) for LV/LSK. Neubrandenburg "Trollenhagen" (JG 2) is already there. 

A nice surprise nonetheless. 

[Northstar98]

Not to detract from the very nice update, but there are a couple of issues with the SA-2 site that i want to highlight.

Firstly, there doesn't seem to be any revetments for placing search radars and their associated electronics trailers, nor does there seem to be any ready areas for transloaders.

If what's depicted in this image were to be recreated then that would be essentially perfect (though the central area is typically rectangular in Germany, 

If the above image were to be recreated (though typically the central revetments are comprised of numerous straight ones in Germany), that would be perfect. 

Secondly, the revetments themselves don't look that accurate - real sites have essentially simple earth berms and SA-2s typically have at least 3 openings (as depicted in the above image). The central area for the guidance radar and associated hardware is also typically rectangular constructed out of 2 sets of parallel berms. In the screenshot in the OP, the berms are the wrong way round.

This is somewhat puzzling because the Syria map already has more accurate launch revetments (they could just do with a retexture to make them suitable for Germany and maybe include some very short grass).

For example, here's an SA-2 site near the large Wittsock bombing range, you can clearly see that the central area is rectangular in shape, constructed from 2 sets of parallel berms. You can also see that the launcher revetments are more similar with the image above and that there are additional revetments for search radars etc.

Secondly, the roads connecting the various elements, IRL these would've been more austere with much more mud/sand - the area between the fences in the screenshot captures this look very well - if it could be applied to the various roads around the site, that would be excellent and would make the site look more authentic.

Edited Wednesday at 09:34 AM by Northstar98

[gulredrel]

Thanks for the update. Great to see UGRA is also creating hydroelectric powerstations and dams and updating factories with waste heaps as recognizable artificial landmarks.

[Rick Mave]

I have seen some confusion about the intended release period for this update.

Some people are saying that this updates constitutes the Phase 2 release of the CW Germany map, but in this update post you said that this is a "small but action-packed" update.

To me this reads as if this belongs to Phase 1 of the release of the map. I am aware that it may be difficult to make estimates like this but can you clarify where on the timeline this sits for you, @MAESTR0?

Great write-up on the SA-2 @Northstar98, I am also hoping we see some more SAM site and related infrastructure assets added on the future. I know we have some very knowledgeable people in the community and that Ugra Media is diligent with their consultation of community feedback so I have no doubt that we will see some faithful representation of structures relevant to DCS.

[schurem]

oooh, looking good!

[2406]

On 10/28/2025 at 11:32 AM, Northstar98 said:

Not to detract from the very nice update, but there are a couple of issues with the SA-2 site that i want to highlight.

Firstly, there doesn't seem to be any revetments for placing search radars and their associated electronics trailers, nor does there seem to be any ready areas for transloaders.

If what's depicted in this image were to be recreated then that would be essentially perfect (though the central area is typically rectangular in Germany, 

If the above image were to be recreated (though typically the central revetments are comprised of numerous straight ones in Germany), that would be perfect. 

Secondly, the revetments themselves don't look that accurate - real sites have essentially simple earth berms and SA-2s typically have at least 3 openings (as depicted in the above image). The central area for the guidance radar and associated hardware is also typically rectangular constructed out of 2 sets of parallel berms. In the screenshot in the OP, the berms are the wrong way round.

This is somewhat puzzling because the Syria map already has more accurate launch revetments (they could just do with a retexture to make them suitable for Germany and maybe include some very short grass).

For example, here's an SA-2 site near the large Wittsock bombing range, you can clearly see that the central area is rectangular in shape, constructed from 2 sets of parallel berms. You can also see that the launcher revetments are more similar with the image above and that there are additional revetments for search radars etc.

Secondly, the roads connecting the various elements, IRL these would've been more austere with much more mud/sand - the area between the fences in the screenshot captures this look very well - if it could be applied to the various roads around the site, that would be excellent and would make the site look more authentic.

I am very glad that someone pointed this out. And I am afraid that the diagram shown is not correct either. In my opinion, the firing positions of the SA-2, SA-3 and SA-5 complexes in East Germany were equipped with prefabricated reinforced shelters.
I am attaching a photo of the command post of the SA-2 complex in East Germany, which contained four diesel generators and two missile guidance cabin semi-trailers.
Also, canvas tents with open fire were definitely not present there.

https://interfest.de/images/am_wall/am_wall_75/05.jpg

[MAESTR0]

Hi fighters
We continue to reveal details of the upcoming update for DCS: Cold War Germany! Today we’re going to talk about key points on the map — airfields that will become hubs for your operations, and unique lanes on autobahns. We have added new airfields in Denmark, Sweden and Poland which will enable the planning of large-scale campaigns across the Northern European Theater of War.

Düsseldorf is a major international airport. It is located approximately 7 kilometers north of downtown Düsseldorf. New Terminal 2, which is Terminal B today, opened in April 1973.

Cologne (Köln/Bonn) — Not just an airport, but one of West Germany’s key hubs of both civil and military importance. Cologne Bonn airport is only 49 km (30 mi; 26 nmi) south of larger Düsseldorf Airport.

Kastrup (Copenhagen, Denmark) is the most important airport in Scandinavia. Copenhagen Airport, is the largest airport in Denmark. Built in 1925.

Malmö Airport (Sweden) — Another Nordic airport that discovers Sweden for us. Located 47 km from Copenhagen and can be used as a spare.

The update expands the map boundaries not only to the North, but also to the East:
Chojna Air Base (Poland) — An airfield in the Warsaw Pact countries. Base for strike aircraft and air defense fighters threatening NATO forces. The airfield was built as Königsberg-Neumark Air Base for the Luftwaffe in in 1937-1938. After the liberation it was renamed Chojna Air Base and became a great place for your MiGs.

In the heat of the Cold War had created a network of highway strips to ensure the viability of aviation even after strikes on major airfields. Now you can experience this unique experience! Without a doubt, this is another gem that radically expands the card’s tactical capabilities.

Highway Strip Perwenitz

„Eins, zwei, Polizei
Drei, vier, Grenadier"

Highway Strip Sittensen

Highway Strip Thurland

Highway Strip Zöllschen




 

 

 

 

 

[Rick Mave]

Very nice @MAESTR0 but unfortunately it very much looks like the highway strips are not wide enough.
I believe however that the Adelsheim Highway strip that is already featured in the map is indeed wide enough. I am now wondering how you determined the dimensions for the NLPs for the CW Germany map in DCS?
Here you can read the original specifications for NLPs from March 1964: https://www.geschichtsspuren.de/cms/content/view/113
Here you can read about NLPs in Lower Saxony: https://www.relikte.com/nds_nlp

Edit: The minimum width for an NLP's runway was determined to be 23m and later on even 30m as requirements changed. (Also added an image of the Adelsheim NLP which has so far been on the map but WIP)

End to end the Adelsheim runway is ~95 ft (~28,9m) wide. The outside solid white lines are ~80ft (~24,4m) wide. While it appears that neither of these measurements fit the requirements (23 and 30m), they are closer to the requirements than what has been shown off in the teasers we saw in the last few posts.

I would love to see this corrected. Highway strip landings are challenging enough as they are!

Edited yesterday at 03:08 PM by Rick Mave

[buur]

All the highways look very small. In Germany you have usually a emergency lane just a little bit smaller as a normal lane but only a little bit. This is mostly missing on the map and that makes it really hard to identify it from the air.

Also at some areas I saw street lamps on the highways but this is only common for Belgium.