[Patton@Bastogne]

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Is there a common "refueling mechanical interface" that fits US, Japanese and South Korean military aircraft ?


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[Blood of Tyrants]

There is probably a NATO standard that US allies use.

[Yo-Yo]

Is there a common "refueling mechanical interface" that fits US, Japanese and South Korean military aircraft ?

There are two types of refueling interfaces: Boom, and Hose & Drogue.

The USAF uses Boom refueling, and the US Navy and just about the rest of the world not flying USAF-type aircraft use Hose & Drogue. South Korea and Japan both fly variants of the F-15, which uses the Boom refueling method.

The USAF should have specified that the F-35A be capable of refueling both ways. The F-35B and F-35C for the USMC and US Navy use Hose & Drogue refueling.

Boom refueling is much faster but requires very specialized tanker aircraft. Hose & Drogue refueling can be done from many types of aircraft with a relatively simple underwing or underbelly pod.

All Western ally aircraft use a common refueling drogue size, and all former Soviet states (including China) use a different sized drogue.