Weapon systems officer

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A weapon systems officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigid, because the relevant controls, instruments/displays, and/or weapons were concentrated in front of particular seats, panels or positions. That included two-seat variants of fighter or attack/strike aircraft (including late 20th century types such as the F-4 Phantom II, A-6 Intruder, F-111 Aardvark, F-14 Tomcat, Panavia Tornado, Su-24 Fencer and Su-30MK Flanker-C, Dassault Mirage 2000N/2000D). From the 1970s onward, aircraft with two-member crews, such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, F/A-18F Super Hornet or Su-34 Fullback and Dassault Rafale B, have often featured programmable multi-function displays. These programs allow roles to be more flexible than previous generation aircraft. Multiple crew members can be responsible for detecting, targeting and engaging...

Read on Wikipedia · Image TECH. SGT. HANS DEFFNER, Public domain