EXCLUSIVE: US fighter pilots lay bare what it’s really like to train for a mission at real-life Top Gun school in Dennis Quaid-presented Fox Nation show

• Weapons and Tactics Instructor course is an elite seven-week program that trains the best of the Marines fighter pilots
• Top Combat Pilot, hosted by Dennis Quad, airs in Fox Nation on November 6 

Dropping seals to confront a hostile mob at an embassy and battling Russian helicopters are just some of the tasks the nation’s top military pilots face as they train in the real-life version of ‘Top Gun.’

The pilots at the elite Marines’ Weapons and Tactics Instructor course are the best the US military has to offer. But it comes at a price of $200,000 per student for the seven-week course – the same as an Ivy League education. 

Completion of the Top Gun-esc school allows the fighters to return as the best fighter pilots in the military and help train their units against the enemy. 

‘This is where we’re really gearing up, we’re hitting this hard and heavy stuff, this is where the rubber meets the road,’ pilot Major Jon Martinez said of the training program. 

Now, the course and the anguish pilots face during the training will be featured on a new Fox Nation show ‘Top Combat Pilot’ hosted by actor Dennis Quaid and airing on November 6.

‘I’m very nervous coming in here, this has a reputation of not an easy place to go through,’ Capt. Thomas Lauderdale said in an episode. 

Dennis Quaid follows 25 pilots striving to finish the Weapons and Tactics Instructor course in his new series ‘Top Combat Pilot’ airing on Fox Nation on November 6

In the real life ‘Top Gun’ school, pilots form every squadron in the country to train in an first-class air fleet, including F-18 Hornets and Huey and Cobra combat helicopters

The program, Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course, is hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One in Yuma, Arizona.

‘You spend anytime around the students of WTI and you realize quickly, most never speak of competition, directly,’ Quaid said.

‘Marines are a unit and they operate as one and each and every student pilot is gunning to be recognized by their WTI instructors as the very best on the flight line.’ 

The program brings together 25 of the best combat pilots from every squadron in the country to train in a first-class air fleet, including F-18 Hornets and Huey and Cobra combat helicopters.

‘I want to be the best, I think anyone who is in this profession you have to be type A, I just like to win,’ said Capt. Mackenzie Spaich.

Drills in the program include battling Russian helicopters and attempting to insert Navy Seals into an embassy while dealing with an angry mob

The program brings together 25 of the best combat pilots form every squadron in the country to train in an first-class air fleet, including F-18 Hornets and Huey and Cobra combat helicopters

Pilots complete various intense training operations including drills battling Russian helicopters and attempting to insert Navy Seals into an embassy while dealing with an angry mob.

‘There is some natural nerves and natural hesitations. Being a relatively younger guy you have some doubts whether you belong whether you were prepared adequately for the course because you expect to be tested,’ Capt. Gavin Jernigan said. 

In one training exercise featured on the show, pilots practiced hitting two enemy battleships in the water. But, in the air, Jernigan decided only to bomb one, ‘ignoring’ the other vessel, instructors admitted on the show.

That led to a failure of the mission and a debrief calling them out on the potential ramifications of their decision and the time it took on the mission in total. 

‘I think the tempo was a little long, I was not thrilled with that, minutes are huge like minutes are potentially an aircraft, two aircraft, five aircraft lost,’ instructor Harambe said. I expected execution to go a lot more smoothly. 

The instructor added Jernigan made decisions that impacted the team as the mission. 

‘Nothing is ever going to perfect but it should be as perfect as it can be,’ the instructor said. 

Officials say it costs $200,000 to train one person during the seven-week program

‘Pilots are a breed all their own, they’re laser focused and determined to perform without excuses,’ Quaid said.

The group of pilots going through the program train as a unit, but each individual is trying to prove themselves as the best. 

‘Pilots are a breed all their own, they’re laser focused and determined to perform without excuses,’ Quaid said.

In another mission on the show, the pilots were tasked with enforcing a no-fly zone where opponents are violating the order.

Lauderdale played a key role leading the patrol of the no-fly zone, but his mission plan unraveled with adversaries being firing.

‘I froze on the radio, there’s so much comm going on, I got my wingman and I can’t even tell him what to do,’ the pilot said. 

Part of the team got knocked down in simulated kill, leaving the pilot frustrated and disappointed over his failed leadership. 

‘This happens, you put guys in a high stress scenario, they’re used to winning all the time because they’re very good at what they do, but if they’re hit with a couple problems that they can’t solve or their athleticism in the jet can get them out of a jam because the planning was poor, they start getting frustrated with themselves,’ said Martinez.

‘This is the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent,’ one pilot said.

The training program leads up to on final operation known as FINEX, which is the last opportunity for student pilots to prove themselves as the best before graduation.

The training program leads up to a final operation known as FINEX, which is the last opportunity for student pilots to prove themselves as the best before graduation.

In 2017, Marine officials described FINEX as ‘designed to execute a simulated special operating forces raid while simultaneously supporting regimental combat team objectives and focusing on conducting all six functions of Marine Aviation.’

Completion of that mission is vital to reaching graduation day. Some pilots came at graduation with relief, others were ready to share what they learned. Captain William Odel said he had his own standard he wanted to meet – not just hit graduation. 

‘This is the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent,’ he said. 

Captain John Baum joked that he was looking forward to not having to wake up at 6am for training, instead saying eh was going to sleep in. 

He admitted there were difficult moments during training but that he learned a lot and was ready to share that with his squad. 

‘I’m looking forward to taking that back and hopefully force-feeding that to other people,’ Baum said. 

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