Title: aircraft design - Why do some fighter jets have two pilots while others have only one? - Aviation Stack Exchange
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Why do some fighter jets have two pilots while others have only one?
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Content: the next fighters developed domestically for the USAF, the F-22 and F-23, were single-seat only (at least one two-seat F-22B was built, whether as a trainer or preproduction evaluation model, but the USAF never seriously considered a two-seater). The F-35 was never even proposed as a two-seater, primarily because every cubic inch of the design is spoken for especially in the STOVL-capable B variant. The remaining two-seat fighters in the U.S. arsenal are the F-15E strike fighter (the backseater having the unique title of "Weapons Systems Officer" or "Wizzo" and being responsible for the fairly complex radar and targeting systems aboard) and variants of the F/A-18 including the F-variant "Super Hornet" and G-variant "Growler" EW fighter. In all these cases the GIB usually manages the advanced radar, targeting and jamming systems of these craft, as well as assisting in dogfighting by providing a second set of eyes especially behind the aircraft. The EA-6B Prowler, an older EW aircraft replaced just this year with the EA-18G Growler, had a crew of four; one pilot and three countermeasures officers. Share
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edited Oct 8 '15 at 21:37
answered Jun 25 '15 at 20:13
KeithS
KeithS
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In addition to Vivian jeet Singh Sudan's answer, most tactical aircraft also have training versions, which are indeed two-seaters with dual flight controls with the instructor sitting in the back. The two-seat Eurofighters, Rafales, versions B & D of the Eagle and Fighting Falcon, anything from MiG or Sukhoi with a -UB suffix, etc. are all examples of this. That's not to say that they can't be operated in a pilot + weapons officer configuration (or single-pilot for that matter) and they normally retain full combat capability, but they're primarily intended for initial training, checkrides, and the like.