The Thundercat was a fighter-interceptor designed to take out bombers and screamers. As one of the earliest vehicles of its type, it came equipped with distinct sets of air-breathing jet engines (the three engines on its three wingtips), and a nuclear-thermal rocket, making it effective in thin-air and near-orbit environments.

The Thundercat would land and take off vertically, much like a space rocket - but it was created to be deployed off of interplanetary frames and spacecraft.