There are some other reasons for the second crew member in addition to what's in pba_target's comprehensive post:
Aside from strictly nap of the earth operations, there's simply the reality of flying low level in irregular terrain that's going to keep the pilot pretty focused without the complication of trying to read and interpret sensors and programming and launching weapons. Army says it wants to operate FARA in urban environments. There's going to be enough going on in that situation without burdening the pilot with other tasks unrelated to flying and maneuvering the ship. There'd be a lot of right brain/left brain things going on which would Beverly degrade effectiveness. Also, while firing the cannon straight ahead wouldn't be too burdensome, consider what would be involved mentally in maintaining safe flight while simultaneously operating the cannon off-axis, especially against a mobile target.
Last edited by Commando Cody; 20th Jul 2022 at 18:57.