This is inspired by seeing Top Gun: Maverick, where one fighter has a second person in the cockpit as a weapons system officer, while the other doesn’t. Does the other aircraft only have a one-seat cockpit?
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As a navy weapons officer who’s worked on all versions of the F-18(A-G) starting with lot 12’s on the F-18C. Some of these comments are spot on. Having a WSO allows the pilot to focus on his specific role of flying. Furthermore, some two seaters also function as airborne refilling, depending on their external configuration. The two seater F-18’s can server in a variety of roles adding diversity to the fleet while making the commonality of platforms easier on parts availability. When you have a felt of aircraft utilizing the same parts (for the most part) it allows the maintenance department to provide more ready for flight aircraft and shorter down times for broken aircraft. This makes your fleet more lethal and available to serve in a multitude of roles when needed.
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