The Short SC.1 was a single-seat low wing tailless delta wing aircraft of approximately 8,000 lb all-up weight (max. 7,700 lb for vertical flight). It was powered by four vertically-mounted, lightweight Rolls-Royce RB.108 lift engines that provided a total vertical thrust of 8,600 lb, along with a single RB.108 cruise engine in the rear of the aircraft to provide thrust for forward flight. The lift engines were mounted vertically in side-by-side pairs in a central bay so that their resultant thrust line passed close to the centre of gravity of the aircraft. These pairs of engines could be swivelled fore-and-aft to produce vectored thrust for acceleration/deceleration along the aircraft's longitudinal axis.