In the movie *Top Gun* we see pilot Maverick with his offsider Goose.
The F-14 clearly needs a second man; but the A-4 does not, nor does the ~~Mig-28~~ *F-5E.*
The F-15 and F-18 comes in both one and two man variants, but I don’t think I’ve seen a two man F-16.
Modern MiG’s and Sukhoi’s seem to be one man fighters.
In: Technology
> Modern MiG’s and Sukhoi’s seem to be one man fighters.
Seems like the bulk of your question has been answered, so I’m going to address this part. Modern fighters have sufficiently advanced electronics to automate tasks that used to require a second crew member. That’s why the newest, most advanced US fighters (F-22 and F-35) are purely single-seaters.
>The F-15 and F-18 comes in both one and two man variants, but I don’t think I’ve seen a two man F-16.
There actually are two-man F-16 variants as well!
The two-man versions of these fighters specialize in attacking targets on the ground; those missions are more complex than those focused on shooting down enemy aircraft. They’re also useful for training.
But, as I mentioned above, avionics have advanced tremendously since the teen series fighters were designed and the F35 is designed to perform those complex ground-attack missions with only one crew member.
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