According to the US Navy, a Chinese satellite deviated from its trajectory in order to spy on the Darkstar, the plane piloted by Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick”, probably thinking it was a real device !
The mistake of the Chinese authorities can be understood: the design of the Darkstar is indeed the work of the renowned company Skunk Works. The latter, a branch of the defense and security company Lockheed Martin, has specialized for decades in the design of revolutionary military aircraft.
The plane piloted by Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick would present strong similarities with the future SR-72, of which the Chinese satellite undoubtedly believed to be able to take a snapshot. This SR-72, a hypersonic military surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance vehicle, is currently being developed at Lockheed Martin.
“Joseph Kosinski, the director of Top Gun: Maverick, worked with Skunk Works and Lockheed to design the Darkstar. They had a lot of fun making it”enthuses Jerry Bruckheimer. “We approached Skunk Works because I wanted to design the most realistic hypersonic aircraft. We built it on a large scale in cooperation with them”says the filmmaker.
“If the Darkstar feels so real, it’s because the engineers at Skunk Works helped us make it”concludes Kosinski. “These same people who work on real airplanes helped us design this aircraft for Top Gun: Maverick.” And who thereby may have succeeded in fooling the Chinese government.
Top Gun Maverick: looking for Tom Cruise on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle