Operation Thunderbolt is a one- or two-player shooter arcade game by Taito made in 1988. It is the sequel to Operation Wolf. Like its predecessor, the game uses mounted positional guns as controllers. It also adds two-player simultaneous play. Versions of the game were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and various home computers. An arcade exclusive sequel to Operation Thunderbolt was released in 1994, Operation Wolf 3.

Roy Adams and Hardy Jones, two green berets, must save American hostages from a hijacked airliner which was forced to land in the fictional African province, Kalubya. To accomplish their mission, they must capture six different bases, shoot enemies such as soldiers, jeeps, tanks, and helicopters using their machine gun or grenade launcher, and try to save the hostages along the way. The enemies will attack with bullets, grenades, or rockets. Once Stage 8 (aptly titled "Escape") is reached, the players must engage with the lead hijacker holding the pilot hostage. It is during this point where continues are no longer permitted and if the player dies, he will obtain a "Dead from lethal injury" game over screen which is commonly seen when the player isn't able to insert coins before the continue timer reaches 0. Aside from that ending, the player can accidentally kill the pilot which triggers a bad ending, and if he kills the hijacker, the good ending will be shown with the credits.