You’re a 16th century German prince plotting to crush a peasant rebellion, or perhaps you’re leading an army against the Ottoman Empire or settling a score with a rival nobleman. What’s a guy looking for a tactical edge to do?

The answer, of course, is rocket cats.

The illustrations from a 16th century guide on siege warfare show what looks like cats with jetpacks strapped to their backs. However, it turns out they’re cats being used as fire bombs to set fire to a besieged city. Alex Moore from Death and Taxes wrote:

The idea was set forth by artillery man Franz Helm, who had apparently seen action in Turkey and witnessed first-hand the power of gunpowder. His idea went like this: Rather than try to lay siege to a castle or otherwise protected town, you could simply kidnap a cat, attach a jetpack to its back, set it on fire nearby and release the cat, which would run back home in its panic wearing the jetpack and set the whole town on fire.