Two-seat Typhoons

[Slater]

As far as I'm aware, the two-place Typhoons are used for duties such as training and test. With the USAF's F-15E "Strike Eagle" in mind, would a two-place "Strike Typhoon" have any utility or advantages over a single seater in the strike/attack role, or (with modern avionics) is the single-seater as capable?

[Selwyn]

The Typhoon systems were  designed from the outset  to do away with the second seat. The Twin seater flown with the rear seat empty has the same capability as the single seat.

 

Selwyn

[Boman]

Modern two-seaters are built as fully mission capable fighters just like the single seater, however with less fuel due to the additional seat.

You need to go back to the F-105F/G and F-106B to find dual seaters with same amount of fuel as the single seaters as the fuselage was stretched for the second seat something not done today, yet still the second seat will pose a weight penalty over the single seater. 

[Agent K]

5 hours ago, Slater said:

As far as I'm aware, the two-place Typhoons are used for duties such as training and test. With the USAF's F-15E "Strike Eagle" in mind, would a two-place "Strike Typhoon" have any utility or advantages over a single seater in the strike/attack role, or (with modern avionics) is the single-seater as capable?

 

I've often thought this, the workload to fly, fight and also steer a targeting device (lightning pod) must be hard at times. Maybe a dedicated 2 seater with conformal tanks etc for deep strike (like the F15E) would be of use.

[Des]

1 hour ago, Agent K said:

 

I've often thought this, the workload to fly, fight and also steer a targeting device (lightning pod) must be hard at times. Maybe a dedicated 2 seater with conformal tanks etc for deep strike (like the F15E) would be of use.

 

Back through the mists of time during the excruciatingly long development of the Typhoon I seem to remember some talk of this in aviation magazines as being under consideration by the RAF but ever better technology (hopefully) along with the practicalities and shrinking budgets facing the UK over the same period killed it off if it were ever really under consideration, consequently the RAF stopped training fast-jet back-seaters several years ago.

 

On the other hand France built and procured the twin-seat Rafale B with more complicated and demanding missions in mind and had not cost become an issue a twin-seat version of the naval Rafale M was planned for the same reason.

[Boman]

Twin seaters are more expensive operational if used as ie the F-15E as you require training of double the number of crewmen. Add to that the potential redesign of the fuselage to get sufficient range, or lack of if left the same as the single seater, and you see that single seaters are cheaper to produce overall. 

 

Computers have taken away much of the need for the second crewmember too. Many will argue against this but this is the main reason why ie the F-35 only exist as single seaters. You also don't need the dual seaters for training as much of the training can and is done much cheaper in a simulator. The real flying is then performed in the single seater after the required simulator hours. 

[magwitch]

On 30/05/2017 at 0:00 AM, Slater said:

As far as I'm aware, the two-place Typhoons are used for duties such as training and test. With the USAF's F-15E "Strike Eagle" in mind, would a two-place "Strike Typhoon" have any utility or advantages over a single seater in the strike/attack role, or (with modern avionics) is the single-seater as capable?

 

There is nobody to put in the back seat. The RAF hasn't graduated an ab initio WSO since 2013.

[Dave Fleming]

3 hours ago, magwitch said:

 

There is nobody to put in the back seat. The RAF hasn't graduated an ab initio WSO since 2013.

 

Are they not coming back for P8?

 

And, hypothetically, is there an arguement for using selected WSOps? (Lights blue touch paper and runs.......)

[Boman]

P-8 crew composition is different than the pilot/wso combo in the Tornado, so not relevant to compare with. (The P-8 will have different kind of system operators)

For the Typhoon, the dual seaters are mostly for training, hence no requirement for wso.