F-16 Gets A Probe

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It's remarkable that the Lockheed Martin F-16, despite being exported worldwide for 35 years, can't be refueled except by the handful of air forces that fly boom-equipped tankers. Cobham's Sargent-Fletcher division demonstrated a modified 370 gal wing tank a few years ago that housed a retractable probe, apparently for Israel, but as far as is known it was not adopted.

Hose and drogue refueling is mandatory for India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft contest, however, so Lockheed Martin, Cobham and HAL have teamed up to develop the Conformal Air Refueling Tanker/System (CARTS), which adds a probe in the forward end of the right-hand overwing conformal tank.