Pakistan’s ‘Top Gun’ Takes Fans’ Breath Away

Eric Piermont—AFP

Squadron Leader Yaser Mudasser has reminded some fans on social media of Hollywood star Tom Cruise.

A Pakistani pilot got pulses racing on social media on Monday after photos from the Paris Air Show reminded some of Top Gun star Tom Cruise.

Squadron Leader Yaser Mudasser became an unwitting Twitter star after shots circulated of him showing off Pakistan’s new JF-17 Thunder fighter jet to a diplomat. But Mudasser was somewhat less cocky than Maverick, the cult hero played by Cruise in the 1980s hit film, when asked about the surprise attention.

“It’s funny. One never imagines that you’ll get this kind of attention when you’re training day-in day-out,” the pilot told AFP, laughing bashfully.

Mudasser has clocked up over 600 flights in the JF-17, Pakistan’s first-ever homemade jet, which was designed and built with Chinese help. “It’s superb. It’s a treat to fly this aircraft. It’s so beautiful and user-friendly,” he gushed.

But it was his colleague, Wing Commander Usman Ali, also channeling his inner Maverick in a pair of aviator shades, who wowed the crowds on the first day of the world’s premier air show. “It was an honor to fly the JF-17 over the skies of Paris. It was a moment of pride for all of us to exhibit this aircraft to the whole world,” said Ali.