In the mid 1980s, the communist government banned the movie in Hungary, claiming it glorified the United States Armed Forces. However, some illegal copies were circulated on VHS with parts about the Russian trawler spying on the USS Nimitz edited out.
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, with some having 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 "Fox" Farrell (Richard Farrell) (VF-84 XO), now retired. He did kick 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 to the stops and the F-14s were flying at stall speed (note wings fully extended in most scenes). That was so they could get both aircraft in the same shot at the same time (remember, no CGI stuff back then!).
The Final Countdown (1980) was used as a recruiting drive for the U.S. Navy with the maritime force sponsoring the picture's premiere whilst the film's movie poster was displayed in branch recruitment offices.