68 U.S. VETERANS MAGAZINE WWW.USVETERANSMAGAZINE.COM
FEATURE: COVER STORY
He was there when 11 American pilots were killed in 17 days. Fast forward a couple years into the graduate school crash course for the one percent of elite fighters of that era, and the kill ratio was 24 to one. So, what does it take to be in that one percent? The guys have got to really love what they're doing every dayyou've got to do a lot of air time, and that's when you get really good and unbeatable. Pedersen, who has been married for nearly 30 years after reuniting with his teenage sweetheart, likes to keep things simple. He credits his own success as a pilot to skilled mentorship, some of it from seasoned Word War II veterans. That was a bottom-line principle of Top Gun: teach advanced tactics to young, talented pilots. And pay it forward by, in turn, passing on that knowledge to the next generation.
At the Top of Their Game
The techniques and tactics that Pedersen and others taught in the Top Gun program are still used today, even with vastly more sophisticated technology. Why has it stood the test of time? These are principles that evolved from experience and winning, Pedersen said. Not to mention, the world's greatest pilots. The Top Gun program has since moved to Fallon, Nev., and the technology has advanced but one thing hasn't changed from air warfare in the 20th century to today, according to Pedersen. The pilot, the human, will always be the key factor in a win in aero combat, he explained. Of the current one percent of naval aviators at Fallon, Pedersen said: You look at these young pilots, and boy are they good. Great pilots need great planes. Pedersen loved the Grumman F9F-2 aircraft that he flew dozens of missions in during Vietnam. You could shoot the eyes out of a cat with it, he said. The military continues to deploy incredible planes, but two things concern Pedersen: 1) Some of the uber-expensive ones have too many bells and whistles inside the aircraft (He prefers simple and reliable.); 2) The United States needs to produce more to keep up with China, Russia and N. Korea. We have these nice, big aircrafts and not enough planes, he said. We do not want
PHOTO BY KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES
Tom Cruise makes a surprise appearance to discuss Top Gun: Maverick during 2019 Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. Below: American actors Tom Cruise, as Lieutenant Pete Maverick Mitchell, and Kelly McGillis, as Charlotte Charlie Blackwood, in a promotional portrait for Top Gun directed by Tony Scott, 1986.
PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES/ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES HACHETTE BOOK GROUP
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