Secret time-travelling Chinese stealth fighter shoots down 'Top Gun' bandit in 1986
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Chinese Military faces awkward questions after release of film footage
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force faces pointed questions after China’s state -run CCTV news service inserted copyrighted footage from the film "Top Gun" into media coverage of tests on the J-10 fighter late last week.
The footage of one part of the exercise was supposed to show a remotely-piloted aircraft being destroyed by an air-to air missile. However, footage from the 1986 film was substituted for the crucial destruction shot. This was quickly noticed upon release, and has raised questions about the veracity of the exercise coverage in the first place.
The video sequence has since been expunged from CCTV, and neither PLAN officials nor CCTV sources have commented on the issue since the takedown. The Wall Street Journal, however, has released a side-by-side comparison of film and footage which shows that the footage used is identical to the film.
While some military exercise footage may be simply unsuitable for release due to picture quality, CCTV has been known to use film footage in this way in the past. Falsifying the video record of military exercises makes for good propaganda - unless detected.
Questions are now being asked over the effectiveness of the J-10’s air-to-air combat systems, including its missile load since any public data that has been released to date is now tainted by association.
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