Marine Corps MOS · Aviation
7524 Naval Flight Officer (NFO), FRS Basic F/A-18D Weapons Systems Officer (WSO)
Overview
A naval flight officer serving as an F/A-18D weapons systems officer assists the aircraft crew in employing offensive and defensive weapons. When assigned as a supporting arms coordinator, the officer directs artillery, naval gunfire, and close air support for ground forces, advises ground commanders on aerial observation, and provides intelligence information unavailable through normal sources.
Minimum clearance: Secret
Core Skills
- sensor fusion and targeting
- mission planning and debriefing
- radio communications and voice procedures
- airborne C2 and battle management
- threat assessment and risk management
- close air support coordination
- joint fires and supporting arms integration
- situational awareness under stress
- intelligence reporting and exploitation
- cross-functional coordination with ground units
Civilian Software & Tools
- Amazon Web Services AWS CloudFormation
- Amazon Web Services AWS software
- Ansible software
- Atlassian JIRA
- Bash
- C++
- Docker
- Git
Civilian Career Paths
- Intelligence Analysis
- Aviation Management
- Project Management
- Training and Education
Training & Development
Getting Started
- FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
Career Growth
- FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)
What the Work Involves
- Communicate with staff or clients to understand specific system requirements.
- Investigate system component suitability for specified purposes, and make recommendations regarding component use.
- Provide customers or installation teams guidelines for implementing secure systems.
- Direct the analysis, development, and operation of complete computer systems.
- Monitor system operation to detect potential problems.
Related Occupations
- Software Developers
- Computer Systems Analysts
- Computer Network Architects
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Typical preparation for these civilian roles: a four-year degree or equivalent experience.
Similar Specialties
7525
Naval Flight Officer (NFO), Qualified F/A-18D Weapons Systems Officer (WSO)
Marine Corps
632X
Aviation Operations Specialty LDO
Navy
1U1X1
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot
Air Force
13BX
Air Battle Manager
Air Force
836A
Joint Terminal Attack Controller Evaluator (JTAC-E)
Navy
639X
Air Traffic Control Specialty LDO
Navy
Equivalent Roles in Other Branches
Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.
Report an error on this page