As the Defense Department’s Future Vertical Lift concept works its way towards becoming an official program of record, the Joint Staff is trying to determine if it can shorten the projected timeline to better meet the services’ needs despite tight budgets. The current plan roughly revolves around four separate helicopters–light, medium, heavy and ultra-heavy–under a single office to ensure commonality within the family of systems, Lt. Col Alison Thompson, Future Vertical Lift acquisition staff specialist in the Office of the…
