This is the coolest picture of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter I've seen in a while. It shows the JSF conducting in-fight refueling while loaded with weapons on its wing hardpoints for the first time ever.
The jet above, an F-35A known as AF-4, is refueling from a KC-10 Extender on April 21 over California while carrying two inert AIM-9X Sidewinders on the outer wing hardpoints along with two AIM-120 AMRAAMs and a pair of JDAMs (GPS-guided bombs) in its internal weapons bay.
The mission is one of many designed to test how well the jet flies while carrying a load of external weapons before the plane begins dropping ordnance later this year.
