Top Gun 2: Tom Cruise's First Look Sparks a Fun Feud Between US Air Force, Navy on Twitter

Production on the long awaited Top Gun sequel has finally begun, over 30 years after the release of the original film, as its lead star Tom Cruise shared his first look from the set. In the picture, we see Cruise's character Pete ‘Maverick' Mitchell in his flight suit looking at an aircraft with "FEEL THE NEED." written across the image-- a reference to the first film's one of the most memorable quotes, "I feel the need – the need for speed." The actor simply captioned the tweet with the hashtag “Day 1”.

But little did he know that his post would spark a tiff between the US Air Force and Navy on social media. Soon after the Mission Impossible star shared the picture, the US Air Force was quick to notice the aircraft visible in the background of Cruise’s photo. For uninitiated, Cruise's Maverick used the Navy's F-14 Tomcat fighter jet in the original film, which has since been retired.

Poking some fun at the retired fighter jet and its friendly rivals, the official Twitter account of the US Air Force posted, "If Maverick really had a need for speed, he could hop into one of our F-15E Strike Eagles! #DYK: They have a top speed of 1,875 miles per hour."

To which the Navy responded by tweeting, "Remember, boys, no points for second place."

However, the Air Force wasn't done yet as it claimed "the F-15 knows nothing about this 'second place' thing you speak of."

The original film, that came out in 1986, follows Maverick as he goes to the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school for fighter pilot training and falls in love with his flight instructor Charlie Blackwood (Kelly MCGillis).

Titled Top Gun: Maverick, the second film in the Top Gun series will arrive in cinemas on June 12 next year. The sequel is to be helmed by Joseph Kosinski– who has previously directed Cruise in the 2013 action film Oblivion.