Originally Posted by
Phil_and_Sand
Why would a stealthy aircraft want huge external tanks? The only reason is for a ferry, but if you are AAR capable the justification weakens. How much gas does it take to lift 960g to ferry altitude? More than you might think... How much additional drag do large tanks add during a ferry (even 'coke bottle' tanks)? Quite a lot ... How much additional cost, complexity and weight does installing wet pylons & buying the tanks incur? Definitely some... How much additional range does 2 x 480g tanks give you? Not very much at all! Are external tanks worthwhile? Most people would say, Nope...
There are a lot of assumptions about variables in that post. I think I would like the option to choose if a particular profile worked better with external tanks. I might only have AAR close to home, so I might launch with empty tanks and I might want to fuel them up at the start of the cruise, for example.