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.”
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.