On Another Note About VTOL Aircraft: The Defense Science Board has been working diligently to assess what the military will need in the way of vertical take off and landing (VTOL) and short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft through the first half of the 21st century. A report by this DSB task force is due in June. The tasking memo notes that the lack of investment in rotary wing aircraft “may have produced” aircraft that are “poorly suited” to current and future missions, but it also says their design may be inherently wrong for the “non-linear battlefield.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
