A hardpoint (more formally known as a station or weapon station) is a location on an airframe designed to carry an external or internal load. This includes a station on the wing or fuselage of a civilian aircraft or military aircraft where external jet engine, ordnance, countermeasures, gun pods, targeting pods or drop tanks can be mounted.

Aircraft

In aeronautics, the term station is used to refer to a point of carriage on the frame of an aircraft. A station is usually rated to carry a certain amount of payload. It is a design number which already has taken the rated g-forces of the frame into account. Therefore, point loads on the structure from externally or internally mounted stores, engines, equipment, passengers, and payload are simply the weight of the item and any pylons, seats, mounting brackets, etc. multiplied by the maximum load factor which the aircraft will sustain when these items are carried.

In civilian aviation a station is usually used to carry an external engine or a fuel tank. As engines are usually a fixed installation, operators usually refer to them with the designation of the engine. Therefore, the term is mostly being used for load points meant for non-fixed installation.