Originally Posted by
downsizer
Quite, but reading back the post 405, I'm guessing stillages for drop tanks? VAPs?
Bingo. It was a few days in India enroute back from some east Asian exercise; they only had the kit which could be transported on the tanker, and if memory serves correctly even that was effectively hand tools only as the tanker had had to land at a different airfield. Of course, being British we were too polite (insecure?) to say "no" or perhaps even "you must be joking" to an invitation to some diplomatically-motivated activity, so BFM with tanks on against clean Su-27s it was, generating predictably awful
PR for Typhoon in what should have been the prime of its export life. Still, got some nice photos eh?