‘Top Gun: Maverick’s’ Hypersonic “Darkstar” Mystery Plane Has A Real-World Relative

SPOILER ALERT – This story contains Top Gun: Maverick plot points

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In the opening moments of Top Gun: Maverick,

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Tom Cruise’s Capt. Pete Mitchell takes an an experimental hypersonic plane called

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“The Darkstar” on an unauthorized test run. Those who’ve seen

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the trailer — or the movie, at this point — will recall a low-flying

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triangular aircraft blowing past a lonely guard post on the desert floor.

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In a half-second, the flyby literally blows the roof off the shack.

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A flash of the scene in an early behind-the-scenes trailer set

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the aviation blogosphere aflutter — and not just because of the mind-blowing visual.

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