Purportedly based on a true story, this made-for-TV drama was filmed on location at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The focus is on two highly competitive jet pilots, Major Jay Rivers (
Barry Bostwick) and Major Phil Clark (
William Devane). Unable to leave their rivalry on the ground, Rivers and Clark attempt to "work out" their differences thousands of feet in the air during "Operation Red Flag", a war-games exercise simulating actual combat conditions. As the tension mounts above the clouds, the story periodically cuts away to the two combatants' earthbound--and long-suffering--spouses (
Joan Van Ark, Eve McVeigh. Former test pilot Chuck Yeager functioned as technical advisor on
Red Flag: The Ultimate Game, which made its CBS network bow on October 3, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide