'Top Gun: Maverick': Everything to know about breathtaking 'Darkstar' aircraft
What's the story
Tom Cruise's latest outing Top Gun: Maverick is already being considered a cinematic masterpiece! Joseph Kosinski's big-budget directorial features exceptional flight visuals and prototypes that are unbelievably close to accuracy. It also introduces the experimental hypersonic aircraft—Darkstar. Aviation geeks called it a prototype of the legendary SR-71 Blackbird or its rumored descendant, the hypersonic SR-72. We look into the details. Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.
Observation
A lot of sequences were real, unplanned clips
In the film's opening sequence, Captain Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) takes the Darkstar on an unauthorized test run. The aircraft zips past a guard post, blowing the shack's roof off—classic opening for the "dangerous" Mitchell! Interestingly, Kosinski told IGN that the shot was a one-time take and the shot of the roof flying was unplanned but made it into the movie, of course.
Reports
The fabled SR-72 is capable of flying above Mach 6!
Sandboxx News reported aerospace and defense manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is developing a successor to the SR-71 Blackbird—the "fastest military aircraft in history." The SR-71 can reportedly fly at Mach 3, outrunning incoming missiles from Russian MiGs, too. As for the Darkstar, it is close to a Lockheed artist's depiction of the allegedly under-development SR-72 aircraft aka Son of Blackbird—claimed to fly above Mach 6!
Twitter Post
Here's what US Marine veteran Alex Hollings says
The Darkstar in the new @TopGunMovie seems pretty realistic for good reason. Jerry Bruckheimer told me that it was actually designed with Skunk Works engineers. The US Navy told him China reoriented a spy satellite to get pics of it, thinking it was a real experimental aircraft. pic.twitter.com/uefNnQYREw
— Alex Hollings (@AlexHollings52) May 2, 2022
Hint
Lockheed hints Darkstar might be peek at SR-72
James Taiclet, CEO of Lockheed Martin, earlier posted on LinkedIn that Skunk Works, the ultra-secret design facility that handles their projects, including the rumored SR-72, had partnered with Top Gun: Maverick. And, most of the reports hint that the Darkstar could be a sneak peek at the fabled SR-72! Oh, and the SR-72's development cost is alleged to be a whopping $1 billion!
Twitter Post
What Lockheed Martin's Director of Communications tweeted
Rumours that ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, in cinemas May 27, features a sneaky peek at what might be the @LockheedMartin SR-72, successor to super-impressive SR-71 Blackbird. This still photo from promotional materials seems to support that thinking. I can’t wait #avgeek #wingfriday pic.twitter.com/PyAak69qOj
— John Neilson (@flyingjok) April 29, 2022
Statement
Chinese government assumed film's prototype aircraft to be real
If a prototype of the SR-72 does exist, bringing it in the open would create concerns on a national security level. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently told Sandboxx that even the Chinese government monitored the film's aircraft. "The Navy told us...a Chinese satellite turned and headed on a different route to photograph that plane. They thought it was real. That's how real it looks."
Training
Cruise designed three-month course to nail flight sequences
Cruise reportedly designed a three-month training course before shooting the high-risk aviation shots. "He's a pilot, he flies aerobatics. He's done aerial sequences in movies for years," Kosinski expressed. He added the team members were "as ready as they could be to be in a Super Hornet." Kosinski claimed the program was "tremendously difficult" and "taxing" but that's what made the shots possible.
Details
The film accurately shows what a fighter jet feels like
Moreover, the makers keep the film real. They fitted cameras inside the cockpit to show the g-forces, vibrations, and what it feels like to be inside a fighter jet. There was a scene where Miles Teller bumps his head on the canopy because he wasn't strapped in tight, and that too made it to the film. Top Gun: Maverick is currently playing in theatres.