--- title: "‘India’s Top Gun:’ Netflix’s new massive, six-part war series" date: "2026-08-11" modified: "2026-08-11" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/entertainment/india-top-gun-netflix/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Movies and TV" tags: - "Entertainment" - "Movies" --- # ‘India’s Top Gun:’ Netflix’s new massive, six-part war series ![india top gun netflix kargil war]() *A still from "Operation Safed Sagar," about the 1999 Kargil War.(Netflix)* For Netflix, India is not just an important market for gaining subscribers, it's now an "[indispendible]()" investment. A new six-part series called "Operation Safed Sagar" is now streaming—and [it's said to be]() "a spectacle on the scale of 'Top Gun.'" **Also Read: [One of the world’s largest-ever tank battles was between India and Pakistan]()** To produce the new series, Netflix got unprecedented access to the Indian Air Force, filming air combat sequences at an altitude of 16,000 feet. To make it all happen, the streamer hired 1,200 local visual effects technicians. At an estimated $24 million, it's the largest operation Netflix has ever undertaken in India. The show "Operation Safed Sagar," is the creative depiction of India's Air Force during the 1999 Kargil War. ![india top gun safed sagar netflix]() *This is what "The Need for Speed" looks like in India. (Netflx)* American media like to make a huge fuss about Iranian nuclear weapons, North Korean nuclear weapons, and even Russian nuclear weapons. But the most likely place for the world's first nuclear exchange is anywhere India and Pakistan are in a shooting war. The two sides both have an 80-year (and counting) boundary and territorial dispute, a history of violence, and a lot of nuclear weapons. In 1999, Pakistan decided to give it another go, covertly training soldiers to send them into Indian-controlled parts of the disputed area, sometimes disguised as mujahideen, to occupy high-altitude outposts, sever India's access to the Siachen Glacier and isolate Indian troops there, and basically give Pakistan control of Kashmir. Apparently forgetting the history of his country's relationship to India, Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf believed India wouldn't escalate a series of border incursions to a full-scale conflict with the world watching. Operation Safed Sagar became the largest use of airpower in the disputed area. Not to spoil the end for anyone watching the Netflix show, but after nearly three months of aerial and high-altitude combined arms combat, India reoccupied all the the infiltrated positions and retained control of the region—but it was not without drama. Hundreds were killed on both sides, with thousands wounded. Pakistan shot down a number of Indian aircraft. India has no shortage of wars and conflicts from which to make movies and television shows—and it does. The 2004 film "Lakshya" (also about the Kargil War) became a cult classic and inspired countless Indians to join the army. While many don't get quite as much critical acclaim, Indian war movies tend to have great storytelling and intense battle sequences. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqV3xfeb4SQ The 2023 film "Sam Bahadur" is about India's first-ever Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw, and how he rose to prominence during India's 1971 War with Pakistan. But India isn't only ever fighting Pakistan in their films. 2025's "120 Bahadur" follows the 120 Indian soldiers who fought off 3,000 Chinese troops on a glacier at the Battle of Rezang La in the 1962 Sino-Indian War. The 2015 movie "Kanche" depicts Indians fighting the Nazis in Europe. We're just saying don't sleep on India, especially when it's trying to give you another "Top Gun." **Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty** **• [The last battle of the Revolution was off India in 1783]()** **• [The United States created rules for encountering a Yeti during the Cold War]()** **• [Air Commandos and the evolution of the ultimate gunship]()** ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()