Bomb bay

Today many designers have moved previously "external" stores into internal multifunction "weapons bays" capable of carrying air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, drop tanks, and other military "stores" and deploying them rapidly in a battle.

The principal reason for the change is to use stealth technology to make aircraft more difficult to detect on radar.

Military fighters are now designed to have the smallest possible radar cross-section, which has decreased very substantially since attention was paid to this feature.

Large racks of missiles and bombs hanging below the wings return very distinct radar signatures which can be eliminated by bringing the weapons inside the fuselage.

Examples of modern U.S. fighters with weapons bays are the F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning II.

Breda Ba.88, Bristol Beaufort and Douglas TBD Devastator were among the few notable aircraft to use semi-recessed bomb bays.

Rotary launchers have stations of their own and offer the ability to select certain stores within the bomb bay for release.