In Top Gun, what phrase does Pete “Maverick” Mitchell use to describe his desire to fly faster?

In Top Gun, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell says, “I feel the need—the need for speed.” He says the line with his friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw during the film’s energetic buildup to naval flight training.

The quotation captures the film’s emphasis on velocity, competition and the exhilaration of fighter-jet aviation. It is often shortened in casual use, but the movie’s famous wording repeats “the need” before ending with “speed.”

Top Gun was released in 1986 and stars Tom Cruise as Maverick and Anthony Edwards as Goose. The film helped popularize naval aviation among movie audiences and became closely associated with the F-14 Tomcat, the aircraft flown by its main characters.