Warning: Spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick ahead

Less than a month from its release, Top Gun: Maverick has already smashed box office records and become the summer's biggest blockbuster hit. With a commitment to breathtaking manoeuvres and edge-of-your-seat stunts, the popcorn masterpiece has a missile lock on global domination, proving a hit with critics and audiences alike.

The legacy sequel sees US naval aviator, Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) forced to return to the Top Gun academy as an instructor after breaking orders one too many times. Tasked with preparing the best young fighter pilots in the programme for a suicide mission deep into enemy territory, Maverick's assignment is complicated by the presence of the son of fallen wingman, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), amongst the young guns.

As aviation nerds, all of us at Robin are huge fans of TG: M (we even went to see it together in 4D); but one of the key action scenes in the film, in particular, caught our eye due to the presence of a bird strike in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.

Trialling the mission they will face in hostile territory, the elite students are tasked with a top-speed run through winding canyons to avoid enemy radar, a dive bomb into the valley bottom to destroy their target, and a sheer 10-G climb up the mountainside to escape while evading surface-to-air missiles.  

During the simulation, one of the graduates, Coyote, passes out from G-force while scaling the mountain, forcing Mav to wake him by targeting with missile lock-on, activating Coyote's plane alarm system moments before he crashes to his death.

Seconds later, two more students, Phoenix and Bob, are hit by a bird strike and the engines of their F-18 start to flame out, forcing them to eject right before it explodes.

It's a nail-bitingly tense moment and great cinema, but with bird hazard management being our business, we started to wonder - just how accurate is TG: M's depiction?

Two real-life former Top Gun's recently gave their take on the accuracy of the scene. Ex-F-18 pilot and Top Gun graduate, Matthew "Whiz" Buckley, shared his view. Whiz spent ten years flying F-18s for the US Navy in test exercises, acting as the 'aggressor' to prepare students for real-life dogfights - similar to the role Mav plays when he wipes the floor with his cocky grads. So he's an authority figure regarding the authenticity of aerial combat.

"That whole sequence features everything that can happen in Naval aviation in one flight! Let's take it apart. The actual strike is pretty realistic. What's not realistic is flying that close together. If you're the wingman 90 per cent of your time is sucking wingtip, meaning you're not helping tactically in any way. We fly more apart — it's called Tack Wing." 

"The bird strike is more realistic. That's aviation — you take a bird to the face. When they test the plane's canopy, they shoot frozen turkeys that weigh 50 lbs at it. But you can lose a motor so you're hoping you've got a backup. Odds of both motors going out are slim (as was the case with Phoenix and Bob), but if it does happen you've got to get out of the aeroplane."

Lieutenant Colonel Dave "Chip" Berke also weighed in on the scene's accuracy. A 22-year Marine Corps veteran serving tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chip accumulated over 2, 800 flight hours in the F-18 and other fighter aircraft and is a retired senior instructor at Top Gun.

"It's not common for a bird strike to snuff out a motor like that, but it has absolutely happened… Bird strikes are not that uncommon. For a bird strike to get you to crash the aeroplane, very rare, but not unheard of."

So, while both experts state that the depiction of a bird strike has been given the Hollywood treatment and embellished for dramatic effect, they agree that bird hazards are a real threat to military aircraft. They also agree that Phoenix followed the correct procedures when handling a bird strike, despite losing the plane.  

How common is it for a bird strike to compromise an aircraft?

Most of us remember the most famous incident of a bird strike: in 2009, an Airbus A320 being flown by Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, was forced to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River after being struck by a flock of geese, causing both engines to fail. The forced water landing permanently destroyed the airbus but saved the life of everyone on board. The true story of the heroic landing was depicted in the 2016 film Sully starring Tom Hanks, in another big-screen portrayal of bird strike.

On June 8th 2022 at an air show in Michigan, a Canadian Air Forces CF-18 suffered a bird strike, triggering a loud explosion heard by the crowd and leading to an engine failure. Due to his quick reactions, the Demo Team pilot flying the aircraft, Capt. Jesse Haggart-Smith, was able to circle away from the air show audience and make a controlled landing without incident. While thankfully there were no fatalities, the bird strike grounded the aircraft and caused damage to the starboard engine.

Bird strikes always threaten aircraft, but military aircraft like the CF-18 with only one crew member and single or twin engines are particularly vulnerable.

Capt. Jesse Haggart-Smith's CF-18 circles away from the air show crowd immediately after a bird was sucked into the aircraft's right engine (red circle). Photo Credit: Tom Demerly.

Mitigating the risk of bird strikes at military air bases.

Preventing bird strikes on military aircraft is a prevalent challenge facing military air bases today. Each year, US Air Force assets sustain around 4, 000 strikes, the majority of which affect the wings or engines. Combat aircraft, which generally have one engine and comprise 20% of the USAF's fleet, are particularly vulnerable and can be rendered ineffective instantly when struck.

As the USAF continues to optimise its operational fleet during challenging times and budget restraints, the need to protect military aircraft has never been greater.

The world saw an increase in the rate of bird strikes globally as a result of the pandemic; with a drop-off in global travel, birds moved into quiet airports. At the same time, the air traffic at many military air bases, like RAF Lossiemouth increased exponentially. With a coastal location close to several pig farms that attract seagulls and other large birds, the air base was at particular risk of bird strikes affecting its operations.

In response to the threat, RAF Lossiemouth became the first Royal Air Force station in the UK to install a bird detection radar and has had a MAX® in operation since January 2021. Over the past 18 months, the advanced radar system has gathered 24/7 relevant data about bird movements along the airfield, successfully assisting the station to plan and manage the risks posed by birds.

At Robin, we believe that knowledge is power. A position of full situational awareness is the difference between being at risk and being in control. Full situational awareness at any air base is essential in preventing bird strikes.

Advanced radar systems provide the situational awareness air bases need to quickly detect airborne threats and reduce operational downtime - while protecting assets that can't afford to be grounded.