>>23274022
That kind of thing is something I wish Gundam in general did more often.
In real life R&D, particularly aircraft, it's pretty common for parts of what're intended to be the same project to end up developing at different paces or unexpected flaws to cause interoperability issues.
Sometimes you end up putting the plane into production before you actually finish the missile that it was designed to carry so it has to be added later, or the original design philosophy was for a doctrine that didn't pan out so it has to get modified and pressed into service in other ways, or all sorts of shit.
It'd be a way more organic way to write in extra mobile suits and reasons for prototypes and shit, too. Like maybe the ReZEL was supposed to work with a new combat drone in the wake of the Nu's success with funnels, but the program got axed/shifted priorities after production was set up. Londo Bell needed new mobile suits to rebuild and expand after CCA, so they got the 100-odd already in production instead of canning them or something.
Bad example off the top of my head, but it makes more sense than the Federation having apparently commissioned 30 new mobile suits for the same role at the same time just for fun.
