As the US Air Force looks to the future of special operations, vertical lift takes center stage
By Valerie Insinna
Friday, Sep 17
WASHINGTON — In a future war against a technologically advanced peer like China or Russia, U.S. Air Force special operations forces will need aircraft that is faster, more survivable and capable of traversing longer ranges than the aircraft currently available, while still being able to launch from austere locations without a runway.
The answer to the problem, according to Maj. Gen. David A. Harris, the Air Force’s director of innovation and integration, might be found in the nascent high-speed vertical takeoff and lift aircraft being developed by industry.
“If you look at the time and distance problem that [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command] presents to us, I have to be able to get to someplace fast,” he said during an Aug. 24 interview with Defense News.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/09/17/as-the-us-air-force-looks-to-the-future-of-special-operations-vertical-lift-takes-center-stage/
