Overview
- The Pentagon released extended cockpit footage of Pete Hegseth’s F/A-18 Super Hornet flight at Naval Air Station Fallon with TOPGUN instructor Lt. Cmdr. Dillon “Bodacious” Hamrick.
- Hegseth promoted the event on his official X account, calling it a “ride into the danger zone” and sharing a preflight “Turn and Burn” video.
- Online reaction was largely derisive, with critics such as Air Force veteran Adam Kinzinger alleging Hegseth’s posts implied he piloted the jet.
- Images from the flight showed Hegseth wearing a black helmet marked “SECWAR,” a detail that fueled further criticism of the optics.
- The demonstration coincided with the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary events at the TOPGUN training hub, where Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine flew an F-16.