The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St Louis was the only company to submit a proposal for a new jet fighter that could be carried by long-range bombers as protective escorts. Current fighters of the day were not able to match the long-ranges of the B-35 and B-36 bombers so the Airforce revived the idea of parasite fighter. A fighter that could be carried by the bombers, deployed as needed and return once its mission was complete.