It is my understanding that the UK refuelling system is incompatible with the one the Israelis use. Probe and drogue vs flying boom (or whatever the US/Israeli one is properly called).

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cm2187 6 hours ago | parent [-]

That surprises me, I thought all NATO planes were interoperable. Israel isn't part of NATO but their systems are mostly sold by NATO countries. US jets can't use UK tankers?

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openasocket 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Each system has its pros and cons, and as a result both methods are widely used. Even the US isn't standardized. The US Air Force I believe largely uses the boom method, while the US Navy largely uses the probe-and-drogue system. Though I believe some aerial tankers are capable of providing fuel via either method.

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codyb 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think interoperability and modularity as core concepts in military design are "only" a few decades old and as such there's probably plenty of existing systems that haven't needed to be replaced yet, or can't be replaced due to constraint chains that will start fitting into that dogma over time.

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ahmedfromtunis 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Even the US airforce and US navy don't use systems that are compatible between them.

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moralestapia 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Is this something that is known? Or is it like a military secret kind of thing?

	▲	cm2187 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I am looking on the web and it seems to be indeed the case. It also seems UK tankers can't even fuel UK F-35, which is a bit lame.