The Top Gun Mindset

Before Maverick - there was the real Top Gun.

A top secret military training programme built around one CRUCIAL mindset skill.

Here’s the true story – and the simple mistake you MUST avoid to make real progress.

At the end of the Second World War, US fighter pilots had a massive bank of air to air combat experience.

In the Pacific they were so successful they had a 12:1 kill ratio against the enemy.

They learned how to fight and survive by doing it for real.

The best possible training.

As the war ended those experienced pilots began to retire.

So by the time the Vietnam war came around in the 60’s - there were a lot of pilots going into action with zero combat experience.

But commanders were not concerned. Their world class training would bring them up to standard.

Plus - their jets were technologically superior to the more basic Russian planes used by the enemy.

Success was inevitable.

Then reality hit.

The WW2 kill ratio of 12:1 dropped to 2:1 in Vietnam. 

And worse - 140 US aircraft were shot down in 1965 alone. 

90% of the pilots lost were those rookies on their first 10 missions. 

What was going wrong? 

A top secret investigation revealed that their fighter pilot training had a serious flaw. 

Because of the US confidence in its planes and missiles, the military had started to cut corners.

Intense, realistic dogfight training is expensive and dangerous. 

So instead new pilots prepared by flying scripted, one on one training dogfights against their own jets. 

It was low risk, comfortable and predictable. 

But when they entered Vietnam for real, these shortcuts proved a massive mistake:

Low risk, comfortable training was nothing like a real fight. 

The solution: Top Gun

Officially called the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School.

It was built on intense, ultra realistic combat simulation. 

Pilots experienced extreme G-force. Stress. The complexity of a real dogfight. 

That hard experience created entirely new tactics for new pilots to follow. 

The US air force followed similar thinking and created ‘Red Flag’. A massive training exercise with multiple enemies and no script.  

The result was immediate. 60% less new pilots got shot down, and their success in combat skyrocketed.

The Top Gun message was clear. 

It’s only by DOING the actual skill you will rely on in battle for real that you develop it properly. 

It became a clear mantra – TRAIN as you FIGHT.

In day to day life, I see people make the same compromise with mental conditioning.

Apps. Articles. Podcasts.

It never works.

The key question to ask yourself:

Am I training my mind – or just entertaining it?

Unless you put knowledge into practice it is useless.

But if you train as you fight – you win the battle.