The buddy idea has been talked about. One problem is that the F-35B can't carry much fuel anyway.
Unless you make the C/L pylon wet, and probably design a new hose-drogue pod for it, the option would be to design a buddy store to the form factor of the existing 425 gal wing tank. Let's say that store holds 350 gal + 425 gal in the opposite drop tank + the jet's internal fuel load, which is about 13500 pounds.
The F/A-18E, with about the same empty weight and thrust, has about 1000 pounds more internal and can carry 4 x 480gal tanks plus 300 gal in the buddy store on the centerline. 11,000 pounds more gas than an F-35B, my calculator says.
Last edited by LowObservable; 11th May 2012 at 12:48.