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Continuity mistake: Due to Rooster's slow flying in the bombing run at first, the first pair of planes has a huge lead - in the sequence of the film, 60 seconds at "bombs away" and only 25 seconds at hitting the mountain ridge. Anyway, they could not possibly be together again fighting against the SAMs, with Maverick ultimately saving Rooster. Each pair would have to fight on their own.

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Factual error: The buddy-lasing does not make sense as shown in the movie. Its purpose is: The attacking aircraft may evade any air defense instantly after releasing its bombs, while the lasing aircraft stays on course at a safer distance and keeps the laser on target long enough for the bombs to hit. In the film, Phoenix and Bob instantly need to turn off the target and fly past it before the bombs hit, so no more laser on target and no actual guidance for the bombs.

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Continuity mistake: When Maverick calls Comanche, the sun is behind the Daggers. When they descend below radar a few seconds later, the sun is ahead of them. (01:31:16)

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Other mistake: When Cyclone and Warlock show Maverick the 12 candidates, Maverick looks at Rooster's profile, left of which is that of Hangman. There you see that Rooster and Hangman have the same Department of Defense ID: 720,956,349. (00:20:06)

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Deliberate mistake: On the Hawkeye's radar screen, the Bandits virtually stand still after switching course to defend target (after destruction of the enemies' runway). While the Daggers complete their way to the Uranium plant, destroy it, evade the SAMs and return (save for Maverick, who got shot down), the bandits are still in the same place. This is a deliberate error: If the Bandits had progressed with normal speed, the Daggers couldn't have possibly avoided a confrontation on their way back. (01:34:42 - 01:40:30)

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Plot hole: How could the E-2 Hawkeye not spot the enemy helicopter? It must have been airborne for many minutes at least before attacking Maverick. But less than 90 seconds before we see the helicopter, Comanche only confirmed the two Bandits approaching. (01:40:29 - 01:42:00)

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