Range, payload, and the Intruder's weapons flexibility

The aircraft could carry mines, nuclear weapons, anti-radiation and anti-ship missiles, guided weapons, rockets, or large conventional bomb loads. Its hardpoint capacity even prompted discussion of adapting Tomahawk, although that proposal was never fielded. External tanks traded weapons capacity for still greater reach, increasing fuel from roughly 9,000 to 14,500 litres when all five stations carried tanks. Its low stall speed suited carrier and short-field operations, while subsonic performance was acceptable for a platform built around payload and radius. Speed mattered less than the commander's ability to tailor a distant strike to many different targets.