Conformal fuel tank

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F-15 with CFTs on the wing roots or on the side of the air inlet
Detached CFT of an F-15
Israeli F-16I . The CFT is mounted on the side of the fuselage above the wing.

Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT) are additional tanks for aircraft whose shape is directly adapted to the contour of the aircraft. They serve to increase the range and flight time of an aircraft and are used exclusively in military aircraft. In contrast to drop tanks, conformal fuel tanks have the advantage of more favorable aerodynamics . In addition, they increase the radar cross-section and the moment of inertia significantly less than the alternatives at the external load stations . In addition, the external load stations are still available for other payloads such as weapons or electronic containers. The disadvantage is that conformal fuel tanks cannot be dropped in flight. The additional air resistance and the additional mass therefore exist during the entire flight and thus have a negative effect on some of the flight performance (e.g. agility, thrust-to-weight ratio ). On the other hand, CFTs can be removed from the floor.

Aircraft types with conformal fuel tanks

The following aircraft are (partly optional) equipped with conformal fuel tanks:

Web links

Commons : Conformal Fuel Tank  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b starstreak.net: Eurofighter Typhoon; External fuel carriage. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 18, 2009 ; Retrieved January 21, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / typhoon.starstreak.net
  2. ↑ a b c d Defense Update: Conformal Fuel Tanks for Advanced F-16 Block 50/52/60. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 5, 2010 ; Retrieved September 29, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / defense-update.com
  3. ↑ a b USAF: F-15 Eagle. Retrieved September 29, 2009 .
  4. ↑ Lockheed Martin: Lockheed Martin F-16s Fly with First Production Conformal Fuel Tanks. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 10, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lockheedmartin.com  
  5. ↑ Flight Review: Boeing F-15 Eagle . As of September 29, 2009
  6. ↑ a b c d AviaciónArgentina.net: CFT (Tanques de combustible conformales). Retrieved January 21, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Flight Global: Boeing shows off advanced Super Hornet demonstrator. Retrieved September 3, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Flight Global: US Navy may add conformal fuel tanks to F / A-18E / F Super Hornet fleet. Retrieved March 26, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Airframer: BAE Systems Hawk . As of September 29, 2009
  10. ^ GE Aviation: External Fuel Tanks . As of September 29, 2009
  11. ↑ defense-aerospace.com: Conformal Fuel Tanks: The latest innovation tested on Rafale. (PDF; 264 kB) Retrieved on August 29, 2012 .
  12. ↑ Flightglobal: Typhoon starts wind tunnel tests with conformal fuel tanks. Retrieved May 8, 2014 .