U.S. Air Force to Equip F-35A Jets With External Fuel Tanks

The U.S. Air Force will fund the development and integration of external fuel tanks for its F-35A fighter jets as part of the fiscal year 2026 budget.

According to the budget documents, $431.8 million has been allocated to upgrade the Block 4 version of the aircraft, including work on external fuel tanks aimed at significantly increasing the fighter’s combat radius.

The idea of adding external fuel tanks to F-35 dates back to the early 2010s.

Since then, various designs have been considered, including two proposed variants: one for subsonic flights with increased capacity, and another for supersonic missions with a smaller volume.

The concept mirrors French external tank configurations on Dassault Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighters, which also differentiate tanks based on speed profiles.

The proposed tank capacity from a 2018 study was 1,816 liters — higher than the 1,400-liter tanks used on F-16. F-35A currently has a combat radius of about 1,093 km, compared to 700–800 km for F-16C.

Militarnyi previously reported that the U.S. had scaled back procurement plans for F-35. For 2026, the Air Force is expected to receive 24 F-35A aircraft — down from the originally planned 48. Similar cuts are planned for the Navy and Marine Corps, with orders reduced from 17 to 12 jets for the Navy, and from 13 to 11 for the Marines.