Broadcast by China Central Television, the footage was said to have been passed off as an air force training drill showing a Chinese J-10 fighter plane firing a missile and destroying a rival aircraft.
However, eagle-eyed movie buffs were reportedly able to detect distinct similarities between the aired footage and the climactic aerial combat sequence of Top Gun, the 1986 blockbuster which helped launch Tom Cruise to stardom. Check out the footage after the jump!!
Watch comparison footage of the Chinese broadcast with the final Top Gun scene here, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:
