Hmmm... A possible (and possibly crazy) design would be to design a STOL fighter. And then if you really want vertical take-off, just strap some rockets to it.

Hmmm... A possible (and possibly crazy) design would be to design a STOL fighter. And then if you really want vertical take-off, just strap some rockets to it. Blast it straight up, and give it time to build up horizontal speed before the rockets (probably one-shot solids) run out. With appropriately sized rockets, it would allow you to take off with a full load of fuel and armaments. You'd still need at least a short landing field, but that is easier to manage if you are light on fuel and have dropped all your bombs. Depending on the landing gear and other needed design elements (air intake protection for example), you could maybe land on grass.