A total of 48 real life U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Nimitz were credited in the closing credits for their performances as extras, background artists, or actors; some even had speaking parts.
The script called for the Japanese pilot to try to force the F-14 into the water. The pilot who basically did a hammerhead and pulled out real close to the water was Richard Farrell. He kicked up quite a bit of seawater and was really pushing the envelope with the Tomcat. WWII ace-in-a-day Archie Donahue was one of the Zero pilots. The Zeroes (converted AT-6 Texans) were flying with the throttle wide open and the F-14s were flying at stall speed (with wings fully extended in most scenes) so both aircraft could be in the same shot at the same time.
The film was made with the full co-operation of the U.S. Navy.
Hungary banned the film in the mid 1980s, claiming it glorified the United States Armed Forces. Some illegal copies circulated on VHS, with the Russian trawler spying on the USS Nimitz edited out.