Factual error: The radar guided SAMs are consistently evaded/triggered by the pilots' flares, which in reality only work against heat seeking missiles. Radar guided missiles would be defended against using chaff, basically clouds of aluminium foil strips. It was mentioned in some interviews they didn't want use chaff as it wouldn't really be visible for the audience - hence why they only deploy flares.
Factual error: The F14 could never have got airborne with such a short clear run unassisted. It needs about 800m, about half a mile.
Factual error: When the blue tactical screen is shown, four ships are displayed. Bottom ship is labeled CG-49. CG-49, the USS Vincennes, was a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser that was decommissioned in 2005, and scrapped in 2011.
Factual error: The left turn the Dark Star makes at Mach 9 is not possible. The G force stress would tear the aircraft apart. The turn radius is far too small at that speed.
Factual error: The TLAM cruise missiles launched at the runway are subsonic. They could not catch up with and pass the Super Hornets.
Suggested correction: It's not defined how fast the hornets are flying, and considering the mission I doubt that they would be running tanks in order to extend their range - so it could be possible that the hornets are flying slower than the max speed of the TLAM's.
With respect, the film does mention their speed: 660 knots, equal to 1,222 km/h, or Mach 0.99.
That's their speed once the actual attack run began in the canyon. Could have easily been going much slower while on approach over the water.
That's only during the run through the canyon after the missiles hit, and it would be known that something is coming. Until the missiles hit, there's no need to burn the fuel to get there as if they are spotted before missiles impact, the unknown enemy has time to scramble more aircraft than what's already airborne.
F-18 achieves maximum range (best fuel consumption) at 0.83 to 0.85 Mach, which is greater than TLAM's 0.7 Mach.
660 knots indicated, at high altitude, seems like it would be over the speed of sound.
Factual error: The pilots are not wearing actual Super Hornet, heads-up display helmets. And, they would not be using clear eye shields in the daytime. Of course, if they were using the sun-tinted shields, you wouldn't be able to see all the acting going on inside those oxygen masks.
Factual error: During the steep climb after the bombs are dropped, the max Gs would occur at the initial stages of the pull up. Once the aircraft is maintaining a steep nose high attitude, the Gs should no longer be that high, let alone increasing towards 9-10 G. If they kept pulling that many Gs, they would be flying a loop instead of climbing.
Suggested correction: To be fair in all instances of showing this climb they show the increase in Gs and them straining during the pull, not after they have levelled out already. The climb might be shown as taking longer for dramatic reasons.
Factual error: One of the major plot points is the second aircraft "buddy lasing" so that the bombs will hit the target. Since the target is a non-moving structure, the coordinates would have been programmed into the mission computer onboard the aircraft ahead of time so there would be no reason to have to manually find and aim the laser to guide the bombs.
Suggested correction: It was mentioned in the movie that the location was GPS jammed, so they cannot get the exact coordinates for the bunker beforehand, therefore it requires this mission to have the F-18/A pairs and buddy lase the bombs to the target.
That's another mistake. GPS jamming is a form of radio frequency jamming. There is no such jamming in place. The aircraft are in constant two-way contact with their carrier group.
GPS is only one part of the radio frequency spectrum. Radar is another, radio communications another (actually a number of different frequencies). A GPS jammer does not block radio communication - unless it's a broad spectrum jammer - which could then interfere with the radar they are flying low to avoid. In the first gulf war GPS jammers were sold to Iraq by Russia - and the US mentioned that several were destroyed with GPS guided devices.
And that's yet another mistake. Without a broad spectrum jammer in place, F-35 could deliver its payload using NAVCON guidance. Another issue is that the so-called GPS jamming was so clean it didn't even cause crackle on other radio frequencies.
Factual error: During real-world training exercises, aviators are told to keep a 500 to a 1000 ft safety bubble around them at all times. In multiple scenes you can see where they are almost flying in a wingtip formation.
Suggested correction: The tactical formation they are in is a welded wing formation, as mentioned earlier in the movie. It requires flying close together to deceive radar as to the size of the strike force.
Factual error: The flame coming out of the engine exhaust port on Darkstar when the scram jet is engaged is wrong. That speed at which the burnt gas is being ejected should show the classic supersonic shock diamonds.
Factual error: While flying out, Maverick strikes an object, tearing off his front landing gear. This would have led to a loss of hydraulic fluid, making it impossible to raise or lower his main mounts. It would probably lead to a complete loss of hydraulic fluid to all control surfaces, making it impossible to fly the plane.
Suggested correction: The F-14 has two separate hydraulic systems: the flight hydraulic system and the combined hydraulic system. Only the combined system is connected to the landing gear. Maverick would be unable to raise his main gear, but all control surfaces would remain operational. In addition to that, the landing gear can be isolated from the combined system, so it would be possible for both systems to remain operational.
Factual error: "BOB" is wearing the patch for VFA-51, the "Screaming Eagles." This squadron was disestablished in 1995, roughly 24-25 years before the movie takes place. Also, it was disestablished as "VF-51", which flew Tomcats as a pure Fighter Squadron. Being a young LT, it's not likely he was ever assigned to this squadron, and in general Naval Aviators will wear their current squadron's patch on their flight suit.
Factual error: In multiple scenes in the movie the U.S. Navy pilots are shown flying without Nomex flight gloves or wearing them with fingers cut out. The gloves are fire retardant and it's standard policy for actual Navy pilots to wear them in flight, no reason they wouldn't be.
Factual error: When Maverick is flying faster than Mach 10 near the start of the film, all the screens at the base short out as those on the aircraft also do. This wouldn't happen; at worst, the screens would go blank. Most likely, a "no signal" or "no input" message would display.
Factual error: Admiral Cain is sitting in the control room together with the Darkstar team looking at the mission control screens when the camera zooms in on one particular screen in the control room. It shows the density gradients around the airplane, visualizing the shock waves in a so-called schlieren image. The angle depicted between the shock wave and the Darkstar's fuselage appears closer to Mach 1.5 than Mach 7.5. (00:09:47)
Factual error: Fanboy's squadron patch is for VFA-143, the "World Famous Pukin' Dogs." However, this is an "Echo" squadron, flying the single seat F/A-18E model. Being a WSO, at his apparent age/rank, he is probably not pilot-rated and therefore could not have been assigned to that squadron. Unlike "Bob", he isn't wearing glasses, so he could not have been previously disqualified and even so, he would be wearing his current squadron's badge.
Factual error: The SPY-1 array on the CG the Tomahawks are launched from is on the wrong side of the superstructure.
Suggested correction: Incorrect. Dark Star is a theoretical aircraft, so we have no idea of its capabilities. Also, race car drivers can pull 9G's and somehow live.
stiiggy
What is being said is not that it is subjected to 9G's, which is completely doable (Maverick gets to 10 during the mission sequence). What is being stated is that a turn with that radius at Mach 9 (not 9Gs) would generate a much higher G.
There is no scale given, so it is unknown how tight the turn radius is and, consequently, how many g's would be produced.
Again, as Dark Star is purely hypothetical, we have no idea of its capabilities or positive G capabilities. What's to say that it doesn't have a way of being able to execute such turns? You are comparing it to an actual aircraft, not a theoretical one.
stiiggy
Even being theoretical, such a turn in that speed is not just a matter of a slightly better technology, but a difference that would be almost science fiction at this point. Darkstar is based on the Lockheed Martin SR-72, which can theoretically get to Mach 6. Even at Mach 6, to make a U turn would take a turn radius of more than 200 miles. I understand your point, that being fictional it can do whatever the filmmakers want, but that would in no way meet reality.
Suggested correction: You are basing this opinion on the capabilities of conventional aircraft. Dark Star isn't real and doesn't have to be realistic.
stiiggy
Some very rough dead reckoning based on screen grabs of the turn show that if the plane had been similar in size to the SR-71 and had pulled that turn at mach 10 the pilot would be experiencing 970-990 G.