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.

‘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

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