Russian Fighter Jet Manufacturer Invites 'US Pilot' From 'Top Gun: Maverick' Tom Cruise To Get To Know The Sukhoi Su-57

Illustration of a Russian Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet. (Wikimedia Commons/Anna Zvereva)

JAKARTA - Russian technology giant Rostec, invited the American actor who starred in the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' Tom Cruise, to visit the international aviation exhibition MAKS-2023 in Russia.

The Rostec press office told TASS as quoted on March 31 that their aim was to invite Tom Cruise to learn firsthand about the sophistication of the Sukhoi Su-57, Russia's newest fifth-generation fighter jet.

Not without reason for this invitation, in one scene from the trailer for the film 'Top Gun: Maverick', starring Cruise, showing a fighter jet in a scene that is very similar to the Su-57. The US pilot observes the plane from his cockpit during a dogfight.

"The Su-57 is a powerful and sophisticated machine. It impresses and inspires, not only the military, but, as we can see, the film directors as well," the Rostec press office said.

"We invite Tom Cruise to the MAKS-2023 exhibition to get to know the Su-57 better and to see the impressive piloting of this aircraft, by Russian ace pilots in person," the press office continued.

The film 'Top Gun: Maverick' is set 36 years after the original 1986 film, in 2022. Meanwhile, the Su-57 first took to the air on January 29, 2010, which allowed the plane to appear in the film's storyline.

Meanwhile, the aircraft was tested in real combat conditions in 2018 in Syria. It's possible the filmmakers shot the new Russian plane and put it on film.

The Su-57 is a fifth-generation multipurpose fighter jet designed to destroy all types of air, land, and sea targets. The aircraft features supersonic cruising speed, an internal weapons carrier, radio absorbent coating, and state-of-the-art avionics systems.

By the end of 2024, the Russian Aerospace Forces will receive 22 jets and by 2028 the number will increase to 76. The first fighter aircraft will enter service in 2020.