Air Force, Navy battle over ‘Top Gun’ sequel

A “Cruise missile” of sorts has been fired in the healthy rivalry between our nation’s branches of the military.

It all is because of a photo that Tom Cruise posted on Instagram and other social media platforms Thursday.

The image in question shows Cruise looking off at a military plane, believed to be an F/A-18 Hornet, as he holds his Maverick flight helmet. The iconic words from “Top Gun” --“Feel The Need” -- are superimposed over the photo. He included the hashtag, #Day1.

Well the photo brought on a war of words between members of the Air Force and Navy, as the branches responded to each other on the Twitter post.

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Whoever runs the Air Force’s official Twitter account trolled the Navy saying that if Cruise needed speed, he needs to fly in a F-15 Strike Eagle then added stats to the post.

But the Navy fired back, reminding and quoting the original “Top Gun” telling the Air Force, “No points for second place.”

The Air Force responded, that its plane is undefeated.

The Navy is working with filmmakers on "Top Gun: Maverick." While the plot has been keep secret, Lt. Cdr. Dan Day told CNN that Paramount Pictures was given access to Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California. It is still evaluating other support of the production will be needed.

The Pentagon has not received the script, but said it will work with the company to make sure it is realistic.

Currently, the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force are experiencing a lack of fighter pilots. After the first movie's release, there was an uptick in recruitment for pilots, CNN reported.