by The actual mock-up of the fictional “Darkstar” supersonic jet featured in the opening sequence of the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick” is on display this weekend.
While it’s not real supersonic aircraft (not confirmed as such anyway), the virtual jet looks real enough that most passers-by would mistake it for the real thing. For the first time, this model will now be exhibited: Participants in 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show and STEM Expo in Southern California this weekend you can get up close and personal with the Lockheed Martin-designed Darkstar used in the production of this year’s “Top Gun” sequel.
Word of the Darkstar’s possible appearance at the air show had been made circulated on aviation websites for days, and Edwards Air Force Base confirmed it in a post from its official Facebook and Instagram pages this morning.
Related: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ enlisted the help of Lockheed Martin engineers to create the SR-72 Darkstar supersonic plane
“Yes, the rumors were TRUE!” Edwards Air Force Base’s Facebook post (opens in new tab) reads. “The Lockheed Martin Darkstar IS at Edwards and will make its world debut at the Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show and STEM Expo 2022 this weekend! Designed to highlight the future, it was only right that local #STEM students got the first look ! Darkstar will be on static display all weekend at the #AvAirshow,” the post continued.
In “Top Gun: Maverick”, the Darkstar appears in the opening sequence as Tom Cruise’s eponymous character takes it on an unauthorized test flight that reaches speeds well over Mach 10, causing the craft to disintegrate. The stunt gets Maverick in enough hot water that he is reassigned to a teaching position, setting the film’s plot in motion.
Rumors have swirled for years that Lockheed Martin has developed such a hypersonic spy plane, but they remain unconfirmed. However, many saw the appearance of the fictional Darkstar in the film as proof that the rumored SR-72 spy plane may be real and that the film offers a glimpse of the secret project.
The Darkstar mockup used in the film was designed in coordination with real engineers from Lockheed Martin’s famous Advanced Development Programs, better known as the Skunk Works. This division was responsible for the design and engineering of some of the most classified and revolutionary aircraft and spacecraft of the last eight decades, including the SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2 spy plane and the new “quiet” X-59 supersonic jet of NASA.
The virtual Darkstar on display is said to have looked so realistic that it tricked the Chinese military into repositioning a satellite to get a better look at it, according to “Top Gun: Maverick” producer Jerry Bruckhemier. “The Navy told us that a Chinese satellite turned around and went a different route to photograph this plane. They thought it was real. So it looks real,” Bruckheimer said. he told Sandboxx News. (opens in new tab)
The Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show and STEM Expo takes place October 15 and 16 at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California.
Follow Brett on Twitter at @brettingley (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or up Facebook (opens in new tab).
