In the aerial reconnaissance role, a camera crate would be installed in the bomb bay, along with a pair of cameras set into the fuselage and larger rear fuel tanks to extend the aircraft's endurance. Large external fuel tanks under each wing with a capacity of , could be used to extend range; an auxiliary fuel tank could also be installed in the forward area of the bomb bay; the external wing tanks were fitted as standard on Valiants that were operated as aerial refuelling tankers. For receiving fuel, a fixed refuelling probe was fitted onto the aircraft's nose, this was connected to the fuel tanks via a pipe running along the outside of the canopy to avoid penetrating the pressure cabin.