Why They Didn't Use the F-22 in Top Gun: Maverick

While it may seem surprising that Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor fighter jet isn't featured in Top Gun: Maverick, there's good reason for that.

While the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor might be the aircraft many viewers wanted to see in Top Gun: Maverick, the Top Gun sequel chose not to use that model for two reasons. Aeronautical engineering has come a long way since the 1980s. Like the original 1986 classic "Top Gun," 2022's long-awaited sequel "Top Gun: Maverick" gets real-life military technology in exchange for producers allowing the Department of Defense to shape the Navy's character in the film. image. As such, viewers might reasonably expect to see the best of the agency's weapons on display.

However, while the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is arguably America's most famous military aircraft, flying one in Top Gun: Mavericks would make no sense for Mavericks. While Top Gun: Maverick is (thankfully) unrealistic, the sequel needs to make some concessions to the common sense of its making. Therefore, depicting an aircraft that has no place in its scene would not work in terms of a movie story, and on a more practical filmmaking level, the psychological constraints of the F-22 design would also Creator of Top Gun: Maverick.

The F-22 Is Used By The U.S. Air Force, Not The Navy

Top Gun and its sequels are set in the Navy. However, the F-22 is used by the Air Force, which is a completely separate agency. So it doesn't make sense for Maverick to fly the F-22 of the plane in Top Gun: Maverick. Also, while the fictional MiG-28 enemy plane in the original Top Gun proved the series wasn't averse to reality-bending, the F-22 posed another, more practical problem. It's a single-seater plane, which means Top Gun: Maverick's creators couldn't film inside a real-life Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

The F-22 Has The Same Problem As The F-35 For Maverick

Some of the most effective action sequences in both Top Gun films take advantage of the opportunity to be filmed inside the plane, allowing viewers to sit front row for spectacular mid-air stunts. This was not possible in the F-22 as the director could not film inside the aircraft. Therefore, it is impossible for the F-22 to appear in Top Gun: Maverick. The fact that Maverick's risky moves, like his trial runs, never resulted in his being fired means that Top Gun: Maverick did significantly change the rules of the Navy in real life, but portrayed the US Air Force's emblem Airplanes are inherently wildly inaccurate.

Also, while realism was not the film's creators' primary concern, the logistics of filming Top Gun: Maverick were. Since the F-22 didn't allow the filmmakers the space to get usable footage, the extremely expensive aircraft would have been a wasted investment for a Top Gun: Maverick production. Additionally, the production of Top Gun: Maverick required a two-seater plane in order to get up close and personal with the cast. The franchise's recurring themes of brotherhood and friendship won't be fulfilled by the heroes flying the plane alone. So, on both the practical and thematic levels of Top Gun: Maverick, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is not a good fit for a Top Gun sequel.