The mission to destroy the subterranean uranium facility was assigned to Maverick. Phoenix (Monica Barbaro) and Bob (Lewis Pullman) were his "Dagger 1," while Payback (Jay Ellis) and Fanboy (Danny Ramirez) were his "Dagger 2," with Rooster as his wingman. Hangman (Glen Powell), who was not chosen, was disappointed and was placed on standby on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. They had two minutes and thirty seconds to fly low through the canyons, beneath hostile surface-to-air missiles, and to reach the target.

Maverick approached the 3-meter target and blasted it on target to create the opening, similar to how the Death Star was destroyed in Star Wars: A New Hope. Dagger 2 gained speed and arrived at the target. Rooster sight-checked the target and struck it, destroying the underground uranium complex despite their laser malfunctioning. The pilots' preparation paid off, and they successfully completed the 9.5-g climb without colliding with the mountain. When the adversary launched SAMs and scrambled fifth-generation jets to intercept Maverick's squadron, the dogfight began.

Flares were carried by every Navy F-18 to deflect hostile missiles, but Rooster ran out when he was being pursued by an enemy plane. Maverick was shot down while attempting to shield Rooster with his own plane. Although Pheonix/Bob and Payback/Fanboy returned to the aircraft ship, Cyclone refused to dispatch Hangman to save Maverick. He assumed Maverick was dead and didn't want to jeopardize the lives of any other pilots. Rooster, on the other hand, did not return home; instead, he saved Maverick from an enemy assault chopper. After that, Rooster was shot down, but he survived, and Maverick was reunited with him. They arrived at the enemy airstrip and discovered an old surplus F-14 Tomcat, similar to the one Maverick flew in the first Top Gun movie.

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