The hypersonic plane “Darkstar” from “Top Gun: Maverick” has a relative in the real world

SPOILER ALERT – This story contains Top Gun: Maverick plot points: moments of opening Top Gun: MaverickTom Cruise’s captain, Pete Mitchell, flies an aircharacter-enabled experimental plane called “The Darkstar” in an unauthorized test. Anyone who has seen Trailers – or a movie, at this point – remembers a low-flying triangular plane flying across the desert alongside a lone guard. In half a second, the pilot literally blows up the roof of the hut.

Behind the Scenes Behind the Scenes In the early days of the trailer, the aviation blogosphere flourished, and not just thanks to inspiring visuals. The unusual shape of the plane raised his eyebrows. Some have argued that this may be legendary. SR-71 Blackbird Once called “the fastest aircraft”. The high-altitude reconnaissance plane could literally pass the missiles launched by the Russian MiGs at speeds of 3 speeds.

Others thought it might be even more exotic: the near-mythical SR-72 hyperbody, a descendant of Blackbird said to have been designed to fly six times the speed of sound.

Lockheed Martin had announced plans for a plane for 2013. Not much was heard of the so-called “son of a black bird” until Lockheed confirmed it. Engine tests in 2017. Some reports have been maintained The SR-72 could “launch for major flight demonstrations by 2023”. Lockheed said in his opening statement that the game has changed the rules of the game. Maybe it will be operational in 2030. Oh, the development cost is $ 1 billion.

Not much is officially known about the SR-72. This, coupled with the game’s speed of change, only adds to the mystique of the plane.

So it was odd that Lockheed CEO James Tecklet posted publicly on LinkedIn this month that the company’s top secret Skunk Works, which is implementing many of its projects, including the SR-72, is “getting involved.” top Gun Manufacturers are bringing the latest technology to the fore on the big screen, including hyperosseous technology. He also shared a photo taken at the film’s premiere.

Lockheed Martin’s director of communications for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, John Nilsson, made it even clearer on Twitter in a recent letter: “Rumors that Top Gun: Maverick, In theaters May 27, reflects on what the @LockheedMartin SR-72, the successor to the super impressive SR-71 Blackbird, could be. This photo of the promotional material seems to support this thought. “

“Top Gun: Maverick” will hit theaters on May 27, showing what it could be @Lockheed Martin SR-72, the successor to the fantastic SR-71 Blackbird. This photo of the promotional material seems to support this thought. hate # Medium #Friday pic.twitter.com/PyAak69qOj

– John Nilsson (@volandojok) April 29, 2022

This is the fabulous “son of a black bird” that comes to you Top Gun: Maverick? The answer is “more or less”.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer told his military blog Sandboxx News that the director “Joe [Kosinski] He worked with Skunk Works and Lockheed [Martin] “Design an airplane that’s there.”

Kosinski revealed that the details of the plane were taken from a “real experimental plane” by Skunk Works.

For me, as an aviation lover and I have always loved this world, the idea of ​​watching people behind the curtain of secret projects … I worked with Skunk Works, a division of Lockheed that actually creates these guys. The plane because I wanted to feel as real as possible. She told her Comic Book Movie.com this week. “So every detail is based on reality, the aircraft’s operation, appearance, all switches and stick have actually been removed from the actual experimental aircraft.”

And in the spirit of so much creation Top Gun: Maverick Real World vs Digital Effects: “We built a full-scale model, a full-scale model of the Darkstar plane, which you see Maverick flying in the film. Yes, I just wanted to show the viewer that the first few minutes really make sense. top Gun In the movie, but as soon as I get on this plane, I want you to know that we’re telling a whole new story, and this sequence somehow helped set the tone for the movie.

An excellent take of Darkstar is shown in Lady Gaga’s video for her song for the movie “Hold My Hand”. Look down.

“The reason it feels so real is that Skunk Works engineers helped us design it,” the director told Sandboxx News. “So these are the same people who work on real planes.”

So Cruise, or someone, actually flew a supersonic plane for the film? The short answer is probably “no”.

The SR-72, if the prototype really exists, will not only be too expensive even for a successful budget, but launching such an aircraft would have national security implications.

At this point, Bruckheimer made headlines earlier this month when he told Sandboxx that the Chinese government was observing the plane used in the film.

“The navy told us that the Chinese satellite had turned and taken a different route to shoot down the plane. They thought it was real. That’s how it seems”.

According to documents obtained and authenticated by Deadline, the Darkstar scenes were supposed to be filmed November 7-9, 2018 in the Mojave Desert at the Naval Air Weapons Station on China Lake near Rijkrest.

Darkstar was shot both on and off the China Lake perch, including VFX footage and drone footage of a hyperbolic clone spinning on the asphalt. The plane was put outdoors for the night, but under the “temporary suspension” it would likely have disappointed frustrated overseas stakeholders.

Had this been visible, interested parties might have noticed a significant difference between the SR-72 and the air cruiser that Captain Pete Mitchell flies in the film: Lockheed’s plane is unmanned and windowless. The problem with the plane wow factor in the movie about naval aviators. Another big difference is that Darkstar, like Tom Cruise’s plane, goes up to 10 miles.

For a closer look at Maverick’s Darkstar, inside and out, here’s a video review of its expansion pack just released in Microsoft Flight Simulator.