{"id":141068,"date":"2022-06-24T18:23:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T23:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/lockheed-martin-lifts-lid-on-top-guns-darkstar-hypersonic-jet-concept"},"modified":"2022-06-24T18:23:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T23:23:00","slug":"lockheed-martin-lifts-lid-on-top-guns-darkstar-hypersonic-jet-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/lockheed-martin-lifts-lid-on-top-guns-darkstar-hypersonic-jet-concept","title":{"rendered":"Lockheed Martin lifts lid on Top Gun\u2019s Darkstar hypersonic jet concept"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"display: block; margin: 0 auto; width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 4\/3; object-fit: contain;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-OEDYnqN_aE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope;\n   picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Lauded for its compelling action sequences and exhilarating portrayal of next-gen aerial dogfighting, <i>Top Gun: Maverick<\/i> has quickly become a monumental success at the box office. But the producers couldn\u2019t have done it without leveraging the expertise of some of the world\u2019s foremost experts in all things aerospace, and that includes tapping into the minds of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers to craft their physics-bending Darkstar hypersonic jet.<\/p>\n<p>Without wanting to give away any of the plot\u2019s specifics, the Darkstar aircraft features early in the film as Pete \u201cMaverick\u201d Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) carries out his duties as a test pilot for the US Navy. The futuristic fighter jet is a jaw-dropping introduction to the hyperreal aesthetics of the film, but may also strike a familiar chord with aviation enthusiasts due to a likeness to one of history\u2019s most revered aerial vehicles, the <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/how-to-fly-sr-71-blackbird\/46366\/\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">SR-71 Blackbird.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When looking for some expert assistance in creating the Darkstar aircraft, the film\u2019s producers were pointed in the direction of Lockheed Martin\u2019s Skunk Works division, responsible for the SR-71, its forthcoming successor the <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/lockeheed-martin-sr-72-blackbird\/29634\/\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">SR-72<\/a> and the <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/the-u-2-spy-plane-turns-50-and-still-in-service\/4360\/\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">U-2 spy plane<\/a>. This collaboration created a new outlet for expression for Skunk Works clandestine conceptual designers, in the sense that this particular aircraft design was one they could share with the world \u2013 as conceptual designer \u201cJim\u201d explains in this video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lauded for its compelling action sequences and exhilarating portrayal of next-gen aerial dogfighting, Top Gun: Maverick has quickly become a monumental success at the box office. But the producers couldn\u2019t have done it without leveraging the expertise of some of the world\u2019s foremost experts in all things aerospace, and that includes tapping into the minds [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1511],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-military","category-surveillance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}