
The smaller the radar cross-section, the more difficult it is for a radar to detect the aircraft. Pole models are models of aircraft that are mounted on tall poles for testing to determine their radar cross-section. The next LockMart employee is “ Becky,” who describes her work as designing and fabricating different types of full-scale pole models. Using a pencil, Jim sketches the movie SR-72 while sitting outdoors in front of a CGI version of the aircraft.

The page has three short video vignettes featuring “ Jim,” a conceptual designer who draws aircraft for the company. Lockheed Martin, on its Top Gun: Maverick webpage, explains it had a number of staff work on the movie project to flesh out what a Mach-10 plane might look like. Are Top Gun’s Fighter Jet Stunts Realistic?.Naval Aviation Interest Rose Post-1986 Film Debut.Established by legendary aviation engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, the Skunk Works has proven itself the most important and influential aviation design bureau of the modern era, responsible for the U-2 spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Skunk Works, a name drawn from the cartoon Li’l Abner, is the division of Lockheed Martin that works on classified aircraft programs. Although fictional, the SR-72 has a real-world pedigree, with design help for the aircraft and models coming from the same group that is designing the real SR-72: the world-famous Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs.Īccording to Lockheed Martin, the production team behind Top Gun: Maverick contacted the company’s Skunk Works division to assist with the SR-72 concept. Thirty-six years after the first film debuted, Mitchell is a test pilot flying the SR-72 “Darkstar” airplane. In Top Gun: Maverick, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell takes his need for speed to a new realm: the hypersonic realm, that is.
