As the virus takes hold, the shields drop. The battle is won when Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), a crop duster who claimed to have been abducted years prior, sacrifices himself by flying his jet directly into the destroyer ship’s primary weapon. With the mothership destroyed by a nuclear device planted by Hiller and Levinson, the global resistance follows the Americans' lead, bringing down the remaining alien ships and securing humanity's freedom.
On July 2nd, a massive shadow falls over Earth as an alien mothership, one-fourth the mass of the Moon, enters orbit. It deploys 36 smaller "destroyer" ships—each 15 miles wide—above the world's major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Independence.Day.1996.EXTENDED.1080p.10bit.BluR...
On July 4th, with the world's conventional military forces nearly depleted, David Levinson devises a "Trojan Horse" plan. He realizes he can use the repaired Roswell scout ship to fly into the mothership and upload a computer virus to disable the aliens' energy shields globally. As the virus takes hold, the shields drop
The story is a modern epic of alien invasion, divided into three distinct acts: 1. The Arrival On July 2nd, a massive shadow falls over
On July 3rd, the survivors attempt to fight back. Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) leads a squadron of F/A-18 Hornets in a desperate air strike, only to discover that the alien ships are protected by invincible energy shields. During a frantic dogfight in the Grand Canyon, Hiller manages to outmaneuver one alien scout ship, causing it to crash. He captures the unconscious pilot and brings it to Area 51.
At Area 51, the President learns that the government has known about the aliens since the 1947 Roswell crash. Scientists, led by the eccentric Dr. Brakish Okun, have been studying a repaired scout ship for decades. When the captured alien pilot wakes up and nearly kills the President through a telepathic link, Whitmore realizes the invaders' true intent: they are interstellar locusts who consume a planet’s resources and then move on, leaving nothing alive. 3. The Resolution
While Captain Hiller and David infiltrate the mothership, President Whitmore—a former fighter pilot—leads a global counteroffensive of civilian and military pilots. In a famous rally speech, he declares that the world will no longer "vanish without a fight."