Publisher's Synopsis
Short Takeoff Vertical Land (STOVL) technology existed for high-performance aircraft since the late 1960s, but the United States Air Force (USAF) elected not to acquire a STOVL fighter despite the United States Marine Corp (USMC) and coalition partners such as Great Britain and Italy investing in such fighters. The former Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) stated the USAF is interested in acquiring a STOVL variant (designated as the F-35B) of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in addition to the F-35A, the USAF JSF variant.1 To date, the current CSAF has not reversed this decision but this may be due to the absence of a study that clearly states the advantages and disadvantages of the F-35B for the USAF. The USAF still needs a research project to examine this subject and clearly state the pros and cons.
