Cyclone quotes from Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

View Quote Cyclone: Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. Your reputation precedes you.
Maverick: Thank you, sir.
Cyclone: Wasn't a compliment.
Maverick: I have to admit I wasn't expecting an invitation back.
Warlock: They're called "orders," Maverick.
Cyclone: I'm Vice-Admiral Beau Simpson, I'm the Air Boss. I believe you know Rear Admiral Bates.
Maverick: Warlock, sir.
Warlock: You two have something in common. Cyclone was first in his class back in '88.
Maverick: Actually, sir, I finished second. Just wanted to manage expectations.
Warlock: The target - an underground uranium enrichment plant built in violation of a multilateral NATO treaty. This plant poses a direct threat to our allies in the region. The Pentagon has tasked us with assembling a strike team and taking it out, before it becomes fully operational. The plant sits in an underground bunker at the end of this valley. Said valley is GPS-jammed and protected by a surface-to-air missile array, serving a limited number of fifth-generation fighters, which in turn backed up by a plentiful array of surplus aircraft - even a few old F-14's.
Cyclone: Seems like we're not the only ones holding on to old relics.
Warlock: What's your read, Captain?
Maverick: Well, sir, normally this would be a cakewalk for the F-35 stealth, but the GPS jamming negates that. The surface-to-air threat necessitates a low-level, laser-guided strike, tailor-made for the F-18. I figure four precision bombs, minimum. That makes it four F-18s, flying in pairs. That is one hell of a steep climb outta there, exposing you to all the SAMs. You survive that, it's a dogfight all the way home.
Warlock: All scenarios for which you have real-world experience.
Maverick: Not the same mission, sir. [looks back at the screen displaying the enrichment plant] No, someone's not coming back from this.
Cyclone: Can it be done or not?
Maverick: How soon before the plant becomes operational?
Warlock: Three weeks, maybe less.
Maverick: Well, it's been a while since I've flown an F-18, and I don't know who I'd trust to fly the other three, but, I'll find a way to make it work.
Warlock: I think you misunderstand, Captain.
Cyclone: We don't want you to fly it. We want you to teach it.
Warlock: [activates a screen listing of pilots] We recalled 12 Top Gun graduates from their squadrons. We want you to narrow that pool down to six. They'll fly the mission.
Cyclone: Is there a problem, Captain?
Maverick: You know there is, sir.
Cyclone: Yeah. Bradley Bradshaw, AKA "Rooster." Understand you used to fly with his old man. Tragic what happened.
Warlock: Captain Mitchell was cleared of any wrongdoing; Goose's death was an accident.
Cyclone: Is that how you see it, Captain? Is that how Goose's son sees it?
Maverick: With all due respect, sir, I'm not a teacher.
Cyclone: You were a Top Gun instructor before.
Maverick: That was over 30 years ago, sir; I lasted two months. It's not where I belong.
Cyclone: Well, then let me be perfectly blunt: you were not my first choice. In fact, you weren't even on a list. You are here at the request of Admiral Kazansky. Now, Iceman happens to be a man I deeply admire. And he feels you still have something left to offer the Navy. What that is I can't imagine. You don't have to take this job. But let me be clear: this will be your last post, Captain. You fly for Top Gun, or you don't fly for the Navy ever again.

View Quote [After an air dispute between Maverick and Rooster amidst their exercise almost crashes their planes]
Cyclone: The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level, a parameter set not just for the safety of our pilots, but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule- it is a law, as immutable as gravity!
Maverick: The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir.
Cyclone: And it will not change without my approval! Especially not in the middle of an exercise! And that Cobra maneuver of yours, that could've got all 3 of you killed! I never wanna see that shit again!
Warlock: What exactly do you suppose you were teaching, Captain?
Maverick: That as good as they are, sir, they still have something to learn.
Cyclone: You're talking about the best fighter pilots on the planet, Captain.
Maverick: And they’ve been told that their entire career, while they’ve been dropping bombs from a high altitude with little to no dog-fighting. The parameters of this mission call for something they have never encountered, something-
Cyclone: Okay, you have less than three weeks, to teach them how to fight as a team... and how to strike the target.
Maverick: And how to come home. [Cyclone stares, surprised] And how to... come home, sir.
Cyclone: Every mission has its risks. These pilots accept that.
Maverick: I don't, sir.
Cyclone: [pauses] Every morning, from this day forward, you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing. And nothing will change, without my express approval.
Maverick: Including the hard deck, sir?
Cyclone: Especially the hard deck, Captain!
Maverick: [sets a folder on Cyclone's desk] Sir.
Cyclone: What is this?
Maverick: It's a request to lower the hard deck, sir, to practice a low level bombing run, per the mission parameters.
[Cut to soon after, with Warlock and Maverick heading through a hallway]
Warlock: You could learn a thing or two about timing, Captain.

View Quote [after Maverick demonstrates that the mission he's trying to teach can be accomplished]
Cyclone: You have put me in a difficult position, Captain. On the one hand, you have demonstrated that this mission can be flown, perhaps the only way it can be survived. On the other hand, you did it by stealing a multi-million dollar military aircraft and flying it in such a manner that it may never be airworthy again. Iceman is no longer here to protect you. I have everything I need to have you court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. So what do I do? Risk the lives of my pilots and perhaps the success of this mission? Or, risk my career by appointing you team leader?
Maverick: [tries to approach Cyclone] Sir...
Warlock: [holds him back] I think the Admiral is asking a rhetorical question, Captain.