Under both Thomas Calderon and his son, Jeffrey, the Taurian Concordat put heavy emphasis on upgrading the cavalry arm of the Taurian Concordat Defense Forces. Designs like the Maultier, Fulcrum, and Rommel have long given evidence to this.   The Red Bull BattleArmor is just one more example of this focus. While the Clan Invasion still waged, Thomas Calderon initiated negotiations with contacts in the Lyran military machine to purchase new weapons of war for use against the Davion invasion he knew would come soon. One of the results of that mission was an example of the Sloth BattleArmor and the plans to build them.
         The Sloth seemed designed for what they wanted, but it proved to be less effective than wished when a sample run of them was used against a pirate raid. The manufacturing line was shut down and abandoned by all but a handful of engineers who thought they could make something of the design. The engineers worked on the Sloth for years, trying out different weapons grids, armor components, and power plants, but lacked the funding to give it true potentional until Jeffrey Calderon became Protector. While hunting down wasted resources, he found the project and threatened to take what little they still had until they showed a projection of what they thought they could build with the best in modern Taurian technology.
         The projection caught his attention, and Jeffrey Calderon authorized extra funding to make it a reality. The new and improved quad BattleArmor first saw trials two years later, where it proved its effectiveness. After seeing it in action, the Protector gave it the official name "Red Bull", and approved it for production.

         A single spinal-mount heavy laser gives the Red Bull its primary offensive power, and is the primary reason for the design's existence. Capable of causing heavy damage to light BattleMechs and vehicles, the weapon is considered an excellent deterent when used correctly. The massive heat generated by the laser is dissipated by two banks of heat sinks on either side of the weapon, causing an odd heat ripple on either side of the suit that often looks like shimmering wings. A second anti-personnel laser has always been placed on a chin turret that can traverse to cover all approaches. In modern times that is a Mauser acquired from the Word, but originally it was just a standard anti-infantry laser cannon.
         The pilot rests under the main laser, in a cockpit that is actually very roomy. It isn't up to the standards of a BattleMech or the vehicles that all Red Bulls are assigned to, but the pilot can lay in the cockpit for as long as the batteries last without difficulty. The pilot enters and exits by means of a hatch on the bottom of the suit. While this can be awkward if the suit is standing on the ground, this is usually not an issue.
         From the outset, the Red Bull was designed to work with the vehicles that make up the majority of the Family Regiments and other militia units in the Taurian Concordat. The design's capability of maintaining a top speed of 40+ KPH was therefore considered a benefit, but as the standard Taurian combat units can hold twice that speed while firing that was still not fast enough. The Red Bull however was designed to be a companion cavalry unit to existing armored cavalry units, and the engineers who created it found a way to make it a better companion than any expected to those units.
         A slight modification to existing tank designs allowed the Red Bull to sit astride them, above the tank cockpit and under their main gun, with its legs folded around it.   Resting like that, it looked like nothing more threatening than a hood ornament. A series of magnetic locks kept the battlesuit in place, while the preexisting top hatch in most tanks was able to link up to the lower hatch on the Red Bull, allowing the pilot to exit the suit and directly enter the tank. Finally, a power outlet from the tank's generator allowed the Red Bull to maintain full charge on its batteries at all times.
         The teamwork this allows between a Red Bull and it's assigned tank has surprised many opponents. When entering battle, the Red Bull can remain attached to the vehicle, giving it an impressive amount of armor and a medium laser to strafe the enemy with, or the vehicle can slow down and allow the Red Bull to spring off and enter the fight on its own. The sight of an entire maniple of Red Bulls springing off their tanks and firing lasers, thereby generating the well-known "wing effect" has caused more than one enemy to break and run immediately.
         This teamwork allows for Red Bull units to be quickly delivered, in general safety and comfort, to any place a vehicle can reach in short order.

         The Magistracy, Federation, and Concordat all make use of the design. The original Taurian design looks like a bull, hence its name. This design is also used by the Federation. The Magistracy version is more elegant and streamlined, more like a stylized horse then the bulky Taurian bull, but they are otherwise identical in all ways.

         Nearly all Red Bulls are deployed in maniples of six, and are permanently assigned to a vehicle maniple. Because of their quadrapedular design, and easy to obtain parts, Red Bulls can be built on any industrial world, even in the more backwater realms of the Trinity Alliance, and so they are the most common BattleArmor in use in that region of space. They are officially listed as armored cavalry though, not armored infantry, and so it is most common to see them working with such low-tech and easily assembled designs as Vedettes and Hunters and the like. In front line formations, they are usually attached to Maultiers, Fulcrums, or Rommels, making those already deadly units more impressive.