Top Gun 2: All 6 Jet Fighter Planes That Appear In Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick has finally soared into cinemas after over three decades, but which specific jet fighter planes appear in the long-awaited sequel?
Warning: the following article contains major spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick.
Here’s every fighter plane that appears in Top Gun: Maverick. The long-awaited sequel has finally soared into cinemas, but which specific jet fighter planes appear in Top Gun 2? Tom Cruise last played Captain Pete Mitchell over three decades ago, and a lot has changed in military aviation since the release of Tony Scott’s 1986 cult classic Top Gun. The film continues to follow the adventures of the titular Maverick, a.k.a. Capt. Mitchell, a high-flying test pilot working for the Navy. Just like Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick is an action-packed showcase of military aircraft.
While both movies give plenty of screentime to the aircraft flown by Maverick and his team there are tonal differences. Top Gun: Maverick is less casual 80s fun and more darkly dramatic than its predecessor, delving into the later years of its cocksure lead character and looking at the impact that his high-risk profession has had on his personal life. But not everyone needs a side of character drama with their high octane antics, and a lot of action cinema fans are seeking out the sequel for more of the original’s extraordinary aeronautical acrobatics.
Fans of the Top Gun franchise who wanted to see more of the jet fighter planes spotlighted by the original film weren’t disappointed. The sequel saw its characters using three iconic fighter jets. Like Top Gun: Maverick‘s choice to shoot jet sequences in 6K, this was very exciting news both for plane aficionados and audiences who remember the first Top Gun and wanted a nostalgia kick. But what does the hyper-focus on fighter jets mean for the average filmgoer who can’t tell their F-22 Raptor from their F-86 Sabre? The key takeaway is that speed is of paramount importance to the film’s characters, judging by a close look at their chosen planes.
F-14 Tomcat
It’s often said that you can’t beat a classic, but unfortunately for Maverick, that old saying has never proven true for the aeronautical engineers. The plane’s top speed of 2485 km/h remains phenomenally fast even today, so it makes sense that Tom Cruise’s protagonist piloted an iconic F-14 Tomcat throughout Scott’s 1986 cult classic Top Gun. But times change and so do planes. Maverick’s trusty Tomcat was retired fourteen years ago due to technological advancements, relegated to being mounted for display at NAS North Island Base. The imagery is obvious, with Maverick himself seen by his superiors as a relic from the past that should be decommissioned. At the climax of Top Gun: Maverick the F-14 gets its own last hurrah when Maverick and Rooster steal one and shoot down a squad of enemy Su-57s, the planes that took out Maverick’s hi-tech Super Hornet a few scenes earlier. Just like Maverick, the F-14 Tomcat in Top Gun: Maverick is there to prove that legends never truly die.
Boeing F/A 18E/18F Super Hornet
The other main plan Maverick pilots in Top Gun: Maverick is the advanced Boeing F/A 18F Super Hornet, a far newer model that features some significant changes to his old preferred hardware. For one thing, Top Gun: Maverick‘s new jet the Super Hornet is significantly slower than the Tomcat despite being a newer model, with a top speed of 1915 km/h. In the Top Gun sequel, Maverick is drafted by the Navy to train a squad of elite Boeing F/A 18F pilots, so as you can imagine the Super Hornet gets plenty of screen-time. The capabilities of the jet are a major plot point. Maverick suggests their use when more advanced F-35s aren’t available for a mission, and some of Top Gun: Maverick’s most adrenaline-pumping scenes are of Super Hornets trying to evade SAMs and SU-57s. Incidentally, Maverick can thank former US VP/ Haliburton CEO Dick Cheney for the hardware upgrade, as the subject of Adam McKay’s Vice derided the Tomcat as “pre-1960s technology” when he pushed to replace it with the Super Hornet. Guess he must not have been a fan of the Tom Cruise’s aerial stunts in Top Gun.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II makes a brief cameo in Top Gun: Maverick on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. The highly advanced F-35 is also referenced several times throughout the movie, including as the preferred option for the flight mission integral to the plot. Interestingly, the reason the more advanced F-35s weren’t chosen as the new signature plane for Top Gun: Maverick may be entirely due to a design feature. The F-35 has a cockpit for a single pilot, whereas the Super Hornet seats two. There’s a reason the actors in Top Gun 2 had intense stunt training. Top Gun was renowned for the realism of its flight scenes in 1986, and Top Gun: Maverick always aimed to recapture that magic. This required planes that could seat two- the real pilot, and the actor being filmed in the second seat. Filming during actual flights rather than simulations was an essential part of Top Gun’s production, and the same went for the sequel. This could be why the widely used in real life single-pilot F-35 Lightning II was “unavailable” when Maverick and his squad needed them.
Sukhoi Su-57 Felon
The Russian manufactured Sukhoi SU-57 Felon is the chosen jet of the bad guys in Top Gun: Maverick. The identity of “the enemy” isn’t revealed in the movie, and the nationality of the SU-57 pilots Maverick and the new cast engage in jaw-dropping dogfights isn’t known. Many countries have Sukhoi SU-57s in their armed forces, including US allies like Poland and Ukraine. Despite piloting Russian aircraft there’s no confirmation that “the enemy” referenced throughout Top Gun: Maverick is Russia or even a state. Sukhoi is one of the worlds leading combat aircraft manufacturers, so the decision to opt for the SU-57 tracks with the Top Gun franchise’s adherence to realism. In terms of capabilities, the SU-57 is a beast of a stealth aircraft, reaching top speeds of 2,130 km/h. A more than worthy adversary for Maverick and his trusty F-14 or the Superhornet-flying Top Gun graduates assembled by Vice Admiral “Cyclone” Simpson and Rear Admiral “Warlock” Bates.
Fictional Hypersonic “Darkstar” Jet Based On Lockheed Martin SR-72
The opening of Top Gun: Maverick shows that not much has happened to Maverick since Top Gun, except becoming a test pilot. This is a sideways career move for Tom Cruise’s Captain Mitchell, as many characters point out. It’s also the perfect excuse to include a high-octane scene where Maverick pushes a prototype hypersonic jet, codenamed “Darkstar”, to Mach 10 speeds. He’s not just showing off either. Higher-ups want to divert the funds from Maverick’s program to unmanned drone projects, and Maverick recklessly pushes the prototype beyond its limits to prove manned aviation is still the future of aerial combat. This destroys the prototype and leads to Maverick’s reassignment, but also introduces the key thematic tension that underpins Top Gun: Maverick – age and experience vs. technical innovation. Despite Tom Cruise’s jet in these scenes having uncanny reference to the conceptual Lockheed Martin SR-52, the Darkstar prototype is a fictional aircraft. The technology it’s based on isn’t too far out of reach though, and it’s realistic enough that China reportedly mistook it for an actual military project during the film’s development (via Sandboxx).
North American P-51 Mustang
What was that about not beating the classics? It’s Tom Cruise’s plane, the actor’s own Kiss Me Kate, that appears in the film’s final scenes. It’s been worked on by Maverick, stored in his hangar before being flown off into the proverbial sunset by Maverick and Penny for their happy ever until-the-sequel. It’s one of only two flyable F-6K Mustangs left on earth, which makes this one a truly nostalgic treat for aviation enthusiasts everywhere. While being full of fighter jets so advanced some are based on conceptual designs, Top Gun: Maverick still makes room for classic planes like the F-6K Mustang.
- Top Gun: Maverick/Top Gun 2 (2022)Release date: May 27, 2022
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