
The "pilot" uses the same as well, however, this doesn't look good on him as his arms are spread wide. I think this has to do with BF2 wanting to let the player hold on to something, like a steering wheel or joystick and this animation sort of expects you to hold a weapon, like the rest of the passengers.
Question: Could someone create a simple 3P "pilot" animation where he's simply standing, not holding anything?
Passengers
Of course we could use this same animation for the passengers too. Or something similar. But it's not an issue, passengers holding their weapon. The only downside for the passengers at this point, is that BF2 puts the camera of a soldier in their chest, not in their head, so as a passenger, you'll see all the others at chest level:


