Due to anime influence (most notably, the incredibly popular Macross series and Transformers series), it was designed from the ground up as both an assault robot and a fighter aircraft. Armed with dual kinetic autocannons, the Tengu is able fly to a target, transform from Jet to Mecha mode, and then engage lightly armoured ground targets and infantry, then transform again and if necessary fight its way out. In Jet mode, its performance can easily match the Allied Apollo Fighter and the Soviet MiG fighters. Unfortunately, the Tengu trades its versatility and relative speed for armoured protection; as a result they are thinly armored and vulnerable to AA and enemy fighters, as well as armoured units and massed infantry. For this reason, the Empire almost always chooses the employ the Tengu i