The Federation had assumed that the Unity Army would manufacture large numbers of MS units to expand its forces, because that was how they operated: building the cheapest possible MS units and equipping the entire military at minimal cost to increase overall combat power. But that was only because the Federal Army was so enormous. The Unity Army had not done so at all, because Xiao Ran had never intended to end the Federation through a direct war. No matter how many cannon fodder units there were, they would be meaningless.
The Unity Army was still very straightforward internally. Every faction was currently giving without demanding anything in return. The Moderate Faction had money—more than it could ever spend. Anaheim also had money, along with all the industrial foundations needed to manufacture MS units. Not demanding returns now did not mean there would be no returns; it only meant that all rewards had been postponed until after the Federation was dealt with. When that time came, Xiao Ran would certainly give his supporters the most generous returns.
Moreover, Xiao Ran had no plans to begin mass-producing more MS units to equip the entire army. In his view, manufacturing one hundred standard mass-produced mecha was less practical than producing specialized units. In any case, whether D-class mecha or C-class mecha, once most components entered mass production, their costs would naturally fall.
Take D-class mecha, for example. If a standard M1 Astray cost one unit of currency, then two units would be enough to mass-produce a C-class Gundam Astray. Even with all kinds of weapons and equipment added, it would cost no more than four units. In the hands of a suitable pilot, could a C-class Gundam Astray equipped with backpack weapons not handle three or four D-class mecha?
Of course, everything