Pete Hegseth experiences jaw-dropping aerial rolls on high-speed F/A-18 Super Hornet with TOPGUN pilots – Video

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to the skies in Nevada on Sunday, joining the Navy’s elite TOPGUN program for a demonstration flight aboard an F/A-18 Super Hornet, the same model of fighter jet made famous by Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

Hegseth, 45, flew alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who piloted his own F-16 fighter jet during the event at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, about an hour east of Reno.

“The Chairman and I took a ride into the danger zone with TOPGUN at Naval Air Station Fallon,” Hegseth posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Incredible Americans.”

‘Turn and Burn!’

Before takeoff, Hegseth previewed the flight experience in a short video on X, shouting the fighter pilot catchphrase: “TURN AND BURN!”

The Department of Defense later released cockpit footage from the flight, showing Hegseth experiencing high-speed maneuvers and aerial rolls with TOPGUN instructor Lt. Cmdr. Dillon ‘Bodacious’ Hamrick.

Videos uploaded captured Hegseth climbing into the jet, taxiing across the runway, and descending the aircraft’s ladder roughly an hour later.

Honoring Navy’s 250th birthday

The demonstration flight coincided with celebrations marking the US Navy’s 250th anniversary, observed on October 13. Hegseth’s visit was part of a broader effort to spotlight the Navy’s aviation excellence and recognize the service members behind its training programs.

“Flying with these incredible pilots was an honor,” Hegseth said in a follow-up statement. “Their professionalism, precision, and patriotism are unmatched.”

Home of the real ‘Top Guns’

NAS Fallon is the Navy’s premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training center and home to the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center, where TOPGUN instructors train the best combat aviators in the US fleet.

The base gained international fame as a filming location for the Top Gun movies, but for the Navy, it remains a critical training ground for modern aerial warfare.

As Hegseth’s flight video teased, a longer, cockpit-view feature of the demonstration is expected to be released soon — giving Americans a closer look at what it means to “fly into the danger zone.”