During the Cold War, two American F-14s
skirmish with a pair of MiG-28s. Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise), with RIO Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), manage to missile-lock one of the MiGs, and drives off the other who has moved in on the other plane in their element, flown by Lt. Bill "Cougar" Cortell and RIO LTJG Sam "Merlin" Wells. It's a mock dogfight, with none of the pilots actually intending to open fire, but Cougar still lost, which sends him into a Heroic B So D — despite being up in the sky and running low on fuel. Maverick disobeys orders to land and instead helps Cougar safely land his plane. Cougar later turns in his wings, unwilling to go to his grave without actually meeting his own newborn child. As a result, Maverick and Goose get a special detachment which Cougar and Merlin were formerly assigned to: they are sent to Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, to participate in (what was then called) the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOPGUN, where the best of the best get to learn to be even better. Maverick is sent with a stern warning not to screw up: unlike in Real Life, callsigns are not Ironic Names in this movie, and besides Maverick seems to have a chip on his shoulder, being the son of the legendary Duke Mitchell, who died above The Vietnam War in unusual circumstances.
The day before the program starts, Maverick tries to approach a woman at the bar, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis]]), but is unsuccessful. The following day, he learns that she is an astrophysicist and a civilian instructor at TOPGUN. Maverick tells her his story about his encounter with the enemy MiG, sparking her interest in him. He also forms a rivalry with a fellow TOPGUN student 1LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer).
Maverick then faces off against TOPGUN instructor LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly (Michael Ironside) in his first sortie, eventually defeating him, but violates two rules of engagement in the process: he shoots down Jester below the hard deck (IE by flying beneath the surface of the earth), then shortly after his victory, he buzzes the tower in a fly-by. He is reprimanded by the commanding officer, CMDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skerritt). Iceman also doesn't approve of Maverick's flying skills, accusing him of being an Ineffectual Loner and Glory Hound; Jester, though respecting Maverick's Ace Piloting, doesn't know if he would make a good teammate in battle. Charlie also objects to Maverick's tactics, but later admits to admiring his flying, omitting it from her reports to conceal her true feelings for Maverick. The two fall in love.
In Hop 19, Maverick abandons his wingman Hollywood to pursue Viper. Viper is impressed with Maverick's flying abilities, but Maverick is eventually shot down by Jester, who outflew Hollywood and then got the drop on Maverick while the former was distracted. While Jester praises Maverick's flying, he tells him that he must never leave his wingman. On the 31st Hop, Maverick and Iceman, now competing directly for the TOPGUN Trophy, pursue an A-4 in a dogfight, but Maverick sees that Iceman is intentionally stalling to score more points. He pressures Iceman to break off so he can take the shot, but Maverick flies through Iceman's jet wash, stalling his fighter's engines midflight. Maverick and Goose manage to use their Ejection Seats, but Goose smashes into the fighter's canopy and is killed on impact.
Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by a board of inquiry, Maverick still feels guilty over Goose's death and his confidence in the air diminishes substantially. Charlie and Iceman attempt to console him, but Maverick nearly considers quitting. Instead he pays Viper a visit. Viper reveals that he had served with Duke Mitchell, whose Dying Moment of Awesome was made Classified Information because it took place "over the wrong line on some map." Viper also tells Maverick he can succeed if he can regain his self-confidence. In the end, Maverick chooses to graduate from the program, though Iceman officially wins the TOPGUN Trophy.
During the graduation party, Iceman (and his RIO Slider), Hollywood (and his RIO Wolfman) and Maverick are summoned to deal with a crisis situation, in which the SS Layton had become disabled and lost in hostile territory. Maverick, now paired with Merlin, serves as backup F-14 to Iceman and Hollywood. Iceman and Hollywood are confronted by a squadron of six MiGs. Hollywood and Wolfman are forced to eject when their craft is crippled, and a catapult malfunction forces Maverick to provide The Cavalry single-handedly. He nearly retreats after inadvertently flying through a MiG's jet wash, encountering similar circumstances to those that caused Goose's death, but recovers his Heroic Resolve. He and Iceman rally, with Maverick downing three MiGs and Iceman a fourth; the remaining bogeys, noticing the lopsided KDA ratio, retreat. Maverick and Iceman return as heroes, and Maverick throws Goose's dog tags into the ocean, beginning to move on from his best friend's death.
When offered any assignment he chooses, Maverick decides to become an instructor at TOPGUN. There, he reunites with Charlie at a bar.
