"Top Gun" is the common name for the US Navy Figher Weapons School that was used to train pilots some improved methods of air combat. The school used skilled instructors to fly the "enemy" aircraft, which included an assortment of aircraft that fly like the Russian airplanes. Top Gun was training only and was not a real combat.
Fighter Pilots
Top Gun Pilots
Goose
Tom cruise, Val kilmer
Maverick, Ice Man, Goose, Viper,
Only the best graduates from the Top Gun Flight School for Muslim Extremists are considered.
Tank crewman, infantrymen, sailors, artillerymen, etc. can be trained in 8 to 16 weeks. It takes years to train top notch military pilots. The Battle of Midway took away the "cream of the crop" of their combat pilots and air crewmen (fighter pilots, dive bomber pilots and rear gunners, torpedo bomber pilots and gunners and torpedomen). Japan should have trained more pilots than it did. But apparently, Japan did not think that they would lose so many pilots during the war. From Midway afterwards, for the most part, inexperienced (naval) pilots would be fighting against the US and it's allies.
Today's jets would not have guns on them, and there would not have been a gunfighter school for fighter pilots (Top Gun and Red Flag).
Redefined aerial jet warfare (modern aerial combat). The Vietnam War brought back the "gun" and "dog-fighting" to jet fighter pilots. The USN and USAF schools of TOP GUN and RED FLAG, as well as the super sonic F-15 Eagles, F-16 Falcons, F-18 Hornets, and F-22 Raptors are the direct results of the Vietnam War.
Created the US Fighter Bomber. Prior to the Viet War, ALL US jets were interceptors (minus the F105 Thunderchief). During the war, all of these interceptors were converted to the role of FIGHTER BOMBERS. In addition, nearly all of them were armed with missiles for interception; during the air war over North Vietnam US pilots had to RE-Learn aerial combat (dog-fighting) with machineguns/cannon fire; in addition to new gun-fighting schools such as TOP GUN and FLAG FLAG which were created solely to teach US pilots how to fight the North Vietnamese Air Force (who flew MiG17s, 19s, and 21s). TODAY ALL US JETS HAVE GUNS ON THEM!
This was an indication adopted by some Fighter Pilots, so they could be distinguished from other pilots. I.e. Bomber pilots
No, Tom Cruise starred in Top Gun.