Combat systems officer

A Combat Systems Officer (CSO[1]) is a flight member of an aircrew in the United States Air Force and is the mission commander in many multi-crew aircraft.

CSOs are trained in piloting, navigation, the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, and are experts in weapon system employment on their specific airframe.

Initial Flight Screening (IFS) has continued as previously established at Pueblo with the transition of USAF Navs to CSOs.

Those USAF officers on active duty or on the Reserve Active Status List in the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard who were designated as USAF Navigators prior to 30 Sep 1993, completed Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) and received their wings with the 323d Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) at Mather AFB, California.

While some extant USAF MDS aircraft, such as the pure airlift variant of the C-130E are being retired, and the pure airlift version C-130J have eliminated the navigator/CSO position, all the other aforementioned extant MDS aircraft, as well as the HC-130J, MC-130J and WC-130J currently entering the inventory, continue to retain requirements for CSOs, thus ensuring the continued viability of the CSO career path.

From 1994 until late 2009, a portion of USAF undergraduate navigator training took place at NAS Pensacola, integrated with the US Navy's student naval flight officer program under the aegis of Training Air Wing Six (TRAWING SIX) with USAF instructor navigators embedded in the wing and its squadrons.

Training Squadron 86 (VT-86) then conducted advanced training in the T-39 and the Boeing T-45 Goshawk for student naval flight officers of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and numerous NATO/Allied and Coalition partner nations in addition to advanced USAF undergraduate navigator students destined for assignment as weapon systems officers in tactical aircraft.