https://www.airforcemag.com/Lockheed...Weapons-Suite/ 17 Jun 2019 "...The aircraft is largely ready for external tanks. There are 12 stations on the strike fighter for weapons pylons;
wing stations three and nine—the two closest to the fuselage—are “
already piped to accept fuel on the wings,” Ulmer [Lockheed vice president and general manager of the F-35 program] said...."