A platoon of four 2nd Generation M14 Dingo Standard-type T.E.N.G.U Marauders belong to the Terran Federation Mobile Infantry Corps on the bounce during a raiding operation on a Batarian world during the Batarian Wars.

Mecha design made for for L4's Mass Effect and Starship Trooperscrossover fanfic on ff.net and alternatehistory.com, the current story arc can be viewed here:
The current story arc can be viewed here:
FF link:www.fanfiction.net/s/12368590/…
AH link:www.alternatehistory.com/forum…

Project Tengu:the 2nd Generation Marauders and the future of Federation mechanized warfare

The Tactical Exoframe Nexus-linked Ground Unit (T.E.N.G.U for short), also known as second-generation Marauders, are a type of bipedal legged combat vehicles used by modern Federation military for infantry support role in ground combat and acted as armored fighting vehicles in lieu of tanks and IFVs.
As the Federation Department of Defense eventually came to a conclusion that most of their current weapons are inadequate at containing with the ever growing Arachnid threats in the aftermath of the Third Bugs War, after a long analysis over Federation capability of an interstellar conflict with an extra-terrestrial threat, the Federation High Command finally gave in and approved for additional fundings and strong advocations in new weapon developments. Among them is the significant change to the common Marauder's doctrine which initially envisioned as bipedal walking tanks into full mechanical infantry unit capable of a high degree of combat versatility.

The combat experiences used in the early Marauder models in the war eventually changed the Marauder doctrines gradually and have a significant impacts in shaping developments of the TENGU program. Initially designed simply as bipedal walking tanks similar to the last Marauder's model Babar, the project was postponed several times as the Federation concentrated its resources on the war efforts, by the time of the end of the Third Bugs War, TENGU design philosophy had been shifted towards more humanoid shapes, with the first Tengu model M12 Gibbon combined the combat flexibility and agility in mind to circumvent the disadvantages of conventional AFVs. Some of these new models are also equipped with handheld Marauder's grade melee weapons, which gave them more advantages in close quarter combat where conventional firearms cannot be used.

Despite the revolutionary concept of “Mechanical Infantry” being highly advocated by many high-ranking Federation officers. Many still oppose to the new concept, as the results, the Federation Marauder developments divided into the two category of “Walking tank” Marauders and “Mechanical Infantry”. The “walking tank” type Marauders, also known as Panzer Marauders are essentially Tengu designs that continued the old philosophy for infantry support with good armor protection as well as powerful armaments to suppress enemy defenses while also incorporates new technologies into them. The “Mechanical infantry” type Marauders are mainly used for special operations behind enemy lines, operating independently from normal infantry units, which lead to their designs being more lightly armored with more focus on mobility and dexterity.

Although the 2nd Generation Marauders are more versatile and better protected than their Bugs War era counterparts, they are still not superweapons, as such, conventional artillery is still capable to take them down, and portable infantry AT weapons still posed a serious threat to these machines. As such, these Marauders rarely operate alone, often operated in group to maximize their combat versality as well as deployed in tandem with other weapon platforms (eg. tanks, APCs) to maximize their tactical coordination in combat against enemy ground units.

Due to a shift to 3-dimensional combat capabilities in both urban areas and rough terrains. The TENGU Marauders have become a versatile and essential component within the Federation Army, typically deployed as general-purpose assault vehicles in most desperate hours on the battlefield. Even more so than the previous designs, the Marauders training programs also included anti-Marauder tactics alongside the previous anti Bugs tactics as part of their course to ensure the new pilots of the TENGUs are the cream of the crops with adaptability to unconventional tactics in battles.

M14A Dingo Normal Type
The Light Sand Brown colored M14A is the least performing variant of the M14 Tengu Marauder line, with simplified head sensor suites and the articulated motors efficiency downgraded by 25% compared to the Commander Type. In order to cut down cost for further mass production, Kojima Heavy Industries also standardized its parts by sharing components with the M12 Gibbon and the later M15 Griffon Marauders while having a less sophisticated A.I core with compatibility for V.I system. Initially, the type only available for intermediate pilots of the Army, but their successful deployment eventually convinced Kojima Heavy Industries to put them in full-scale production and export.

The M14A Dingo Normal Type is typically assigned to junior officers of the Marauder Corps in the Federation Army , although an export variant known as M14E Coyote is also seen in service with the Alliance and the Terran Republic in small numbers as well as other independent contractors with the Black Cross fielded a sizeable number of these machines for their elite pilots. Overall, the M14A Dingo Normal Type, despite being a watered down variant, of the M14S, still superior in terms of power output and maneuverability compared to the more numerous M12 Gibbon and the M15 Griffon in the Federation Army.

As such, almost every human factions in the galaxy had access to some form of the Dingo or another, although the Federation still remained the most numerous user of the type.

Specification
Role: Mass Production General Purpose Tengu Marauder
Head height: 6.8m
Crew: 1
Running Speed: 75km/h
Thrusters: two rocket verniers
Armor materials: Ceramic Plates/Titanium
Armaments:
-40mm Bullpup Rifle/Auto cannon
-Marauder Utility Knives  
-240mm Recoiless Rocket Launcher
-Chest-mounted pulse-laser cannons (optional)
-Chest-mounted multi-launchers (optional)

Made in Maya 2015
Rendered in Keyshot 7 renderer