"Top Gun: Maverick's" fictional hypersonic jet has become a real, tangible piece of military hardware... sort of.
The Edwards Air Force Base recently announced that "Top Gun: Maverick's" Darkstar Jet will be on display during the 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show, & STEM Expo (AV Air Show) to "showcase the future."
The Darkstar hypersonic jet will be joined by every (real) tactical fighter in the US Air Force's inventory, such as the SR-71 Black Bird, per the Air Show's official Facebook page.
AV Airshow - 'Top Gun: Maverick' Hypersonic Jet Display Details
The official Facebook page of the Edwards Air Force Base mentioned that "Top Gun: Maverick's" Darkstar Jet will make its world debut during the 2022 AV Air Show scheduled this weekend.
The news comes as a surprise to aviation enthusiasts as the possibility of the hypersonic jet's appearance in the air show was circulating on aviation websites for days before the Edwards Air Force Base confirmed it, per Space.com.
However, people attending the event won't be seeing the hypersonic jet flying around and going at Mach 10, like in the movies. The jet, while tangible, is only a mock jet and is only meant for display.
Despite that, having the jet displayed during the air show serves a purpose. According to the Edwards Air Force Base's post, the jet was designed to "showcase the future." As such, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students will be the first to see the jet.
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According to The Aviationist, 12,000 STEM students from high schools near the air show's venue will attend and see the jet on the event's first day.
Lockheed Martin, the company that designed the Darkstar, as well as the air show's organizers, are hoping that the jet, though just a model, will stimulate interest in aerospace careers.
Interestingly, Lockheed Martin is also allegedly having a hiring drive, and it hoped that the Darkstar Jet's appearance would help focus attention on it.
The 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show, & STEM Expo will be held on Oct. 15 and 16 at the Edwards Air Force Base in California. The Air Base's gates are set to open at 8:30 AM PDT and will close once the Air Base reaches capacity.
The Story Behind 'Top Gun: Maverick's' Darkstar Jet
The Darkstar jet is actually a work in progress behind Lockheed Martin's doors. According to a separate Space.com article, the aircraft is a modified variant of the conceptual SR-72 aircraft set to take the place of the SR-71 Blackbird prominently used for executing high-altitude reconnaissance during the Cold War.
To get this modified variant of the SR-72 on the big screen, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works partnered with the movie's production team to develop and engineer the SR-72 that would look cool as a mock-up and an airborne CGI jet.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't elaborate on the Darkstar's specifications and capabilities, which could have been a good thing. Ananda Cota, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson, said that the Darkstar is a "hyper-realistic aircraft concept" designed specifically for the movie, and such, will remain fictitious.
This statement means that the capabilities of the SR-72 would greatly differ from whatever the capabilities of the Darkstar are.
