observation nose and tail guns, still useful today?

after reading some threads about the Il-76. I’ve been wondering about the observation nose and tail gun it uses. Are they still useful today?

They were commonly found in WWII aircraft and some aircraft following that, but its not too common anymore. I think some Il-76 variants did away with the tail gun.. although it’d probably be an interesting site to be flying near an aircraft with a tail gun pointing right at you.

the observation nose probably has more useful reasons than a tail gun (at least in today). if not at least making a nice view for those looking out of it.