Not missing the point..the army has been there, done that already!!!
The idea of using a non rated observer was the norm back in SE Asia. Scout helicopters very mission is RISTA (Recon, Intel, Surveillance, and Target acquisition), its lightly armored, lightly armed in relation to am actual dedicated attack platform. The Army brass as well as pilots realized the single point of failure in that concept (single pilot) was once your pilot got shot...down came the helicopter and the resulting loss of both the crewmembers and the airframe. The A thru C model OH-58s flew with single pilot. These very same pilots realized this, so they taught their non rated crewmember some flying skills to try and ensure a return of all who had a vested interest. The dual pilot requirement grew from this basic lesson. Plus as the 58 matured into the Kiowa Warrior sensors suite grew taking the place of the enlisted man using his Mark 1 eyeballs. Now a fix to that is available currently...use a operator to remotely take control should the primary pilot onboard the airframe become incapacitated. But that opens up a new can of worms and pretty much negating the low cost aspect in the original argument started here.