--- title: "Marines Winding Down Weapon Systems Officer Position, F/A-18Ds To Fly With Pilot Only" description: "The long-established Weapon Systems Officer position is in the twilight of its existence within the Marine Corps tactical jet community." date: "2019-07-19" modified: "2019-07-19" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/29078/marines-winding-down-weapon-system-officers-position-f-a-18ds-to-fly-with-pilot-only" categories: - "Air" - "F/A-18" - "F/A-18A-D" - "Fighters" - "Sea" - "U.S. Marine Corps" tags: - "F/A-18C" - "F/A-18D" - "FAC(A)." - "Hornet" - "Marines" - "usmc" - "VMFA(AW)" - "Weapon Systems Officer" - "WSO" --- # Marines Winding Down Weapon Systems Officer Position, F/A-18Ds To Fly With Pilot Only ![]() *www.twz.com* In [our exclusive report on]() the integration of single-seat F/A-18C models into traditionally two-seat F/A-18D 'all-weather' Marine strike-fighter squadrons, and vice-versa, *The War Zone* has learned that the Marines are in the process of winding-down the Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) position entirely. Once existing WSOs filter out of the Hornet community, the remaining missionized (not trainers) F/A-18Ds will be operated by just a pilot. Captain Christopher Harrison, a Communications Strategy Officer for Marine Corps' headquarters in the Pentagon, replied to *The War Zone's* follow-up question regarding the fate of Hornet WSOs as such: > "The Marine Corps is no longer accessing WSOs. However, all WSOs currently in service and training will be utilized in F/A-18Ds until the platform is deactivated or there are no more WSOs in the fleet, whichever comes first. Further, we do not expect the Marine Corps to man F/A-18Ds with two pilots (i.e. a pilot replacing the WSOs spot) once we reach a point where there are no longer WSOs in the Fleet. A pilot can fly and execute all missions in an F/A-18D without a WSO in the backseat (i.e. keeping the seat empty). Having a WSO simply adds increase proficiency in certain mission skills, such as FAC(A) \[Foward Air Control-Airborne\]." ![message-editor%2F1563572659603-djdji.jpg]() *VMFA(AW)-224 'Bengals' Hornet seen during overseas operations. , *USMC** The writing was on the wall for the WSO job in the USMC's tactical aircraft community ever since the service decided to move to an all F-35B and F-35C fighter force. But a series of factors, including the Navy largely [retiring its Legacy Hornet fleet]() in favor of buying new Super Hornets and the USMC not prioritizing retiring the Hornet or the Harrier as new F-35s are delivered, seems to have impacted the timeline of the WSO's demise and the unique identity of the Marine all-weather strike fighter squadrons they work for. https://youtube.com/embed/ETQJv4-5PIk Once the last WSO leaves the fleet, it will mark the end of a long heritage of Marine fighter and attack aircraft that leveraged the two-crew concept of operations for the service's most challenging tactical air missions. This includes decades of operations of [F-4 Phantoms]() with Radar Intercept Officers and [A-6 Intruders]() with Bombardier Navigators onboard. Just earlier this year, the [Marines also said goodbye]() to their only other multi-crew tactical jet that was in service, the EA-6B Prowler. That aircraft has no direct replacement within the USMC. The Legacy Hornet still has at least a decade of service left in it with the USMC. 84 of the jets [are going to be updated]() with powerful Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, along with other smaller upgrades, that will give them a whole new level of capability as they venture into the twilight of their flying careers. ![message-editor%2F1563572736090-ddd.jpeg]() **Ed Darack via Getty Images** Still, it's bittersweet to see the end of the Marine all-weather tactical jet squadron and the two-person crew concept that gave those units enhanced abilities over their single-seat counterparts. At least if any of the fully missionized F/A-18Ds are still floating around in units that will primarily fly the single-seat C model, another pilot could jump in the back if a bit more situational awareness is needed for certain missions. But that isn't the same as having a specialist WSO onboard who has focused their entire fast-jet career on mastering all the tactical tasks aside from flying. The WSO position will still be going strong in the U.S. Navy for decades to come as its F/A-18Fs make up a substantial portion of the fleet and there is no end in sight for the USAF's WSOs which man a more diverse set of platforms. *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()