The reason V/STOL was fashionable, early-1960s, for close air support on the N.German Plain, was the Threats of massed Soviet armour behind SCUD deletion of runways. W.German Aero-production capability was being restored on F-104G: its R&D revival was to be on 8/61 NBMR.3. That was “won” in 1963 by HSAL/VFW P.1154, defeating French/Belgian/BAC Mirage IIIV in all eyes but French. Neither was procured.

W.Germany then went into US-collaboration to pursue supersonic V/STOL. VFW merged with Fokker, Fairchild with Republic. US+W.Germany funded a skein of studies, taken over by Boeing and W.German EWR Consortium, latterly as AVS. That lapsed early-1968 when its grotesque complexities were seen as defeated by autobahns+ Swedish/Swiss-style dispersal in near lairs. NKF-75 became the F-104G replacement; CAS using autobahns became the role for Jaguar/AlphaJet; runways were presumed to survive awhile, to launch (MRCA) Tornado. RAFG had a CAS dispersal task for a Wing of Harriers, whose modest payload-range (then the bane of VTOL), was acceptable for Stuka disruption of first incursion upfront near Gutersloh. The only other place people could find to put V/STOL was shipborne.

(There: pros + cons of V/STOL in 2 paras).