Lancashire combat jet stars on red carpet with Hollywood superstar Tom cruise

A full-sized replica of the third generation fighter, currently in service with the RAF defending NATO’s border with Russia, was hoisted into position outside the cinema showing the premier of the new Top Gun movie.

The film, Top Gun: Maverick. is the long awaited sequel to the 1986 original giving Tom Cruise the chance to reprise his role of hot-shot navy pilot Maverick.

The Typhoon was the background for photographs at the event in Leicester Square where film’s leading man Tom Cruise and other Hollywood stars were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The replica had to be loaded onto long trailers at its BAE Systems storage facility, moved to London, and unloaded at Leicester Square using an Ainscough 150 tonne crane in partnership with CEVA Logistics.

A BAE Spokesman said: “Whilst it doesn’t appear in the film, we were asked to provide the top performance jet for our UK Top Guns.”

BAE Systems was happy to oblige for the VIP event and the aircraft echoes Maverick’s oft quoted “need for speed” with its top speed of twice the speed of sound – around 1,320mph.

The Typhoon, assembled at Warton, takes only 1 minute 30 seconds after take-off to reach more than 30,000 feet thanks to the power of its twin twin Rolls-Royce EJ 200 engines.

The aircraft’s supercruise capability gives Typhoon the ability to intercept possible targets with supersonic speed, without the need to use reheat abilities (its afterburner), which optimizes fuel consumption.