Experimental weaponry is always going to be leagues more expensive than production weapons.
Crisis tends to drive innovation not stop it and we certainly saw that between 3050-67
Despite everything, the IS went from reverse engineering Star League kit, to developing their own variants to designing entirely new weapon systems in 17 years. Never mind the all new Warships and Battle Armour that were coming online.
The Jihad was maybe a little too much of a crisis and the ‘swords in plowshares’ thing was inevitably going to produce a bit of an R&D holiday, but we are back in full blown crisis mode and if you are looking to rebuild your military your also going to be looking for that innovation that will give you troops the edge in the next fight.
After all, if your current weapons were good enough you would have won the last battle, certainly your lord’s gallant leadership cannot be to blame
Seriously though, you might well choose to prioritise available weapons for immediate deployment. But, history also suggests that the IS tends to accelerate R&D during a crisis, not slow it down.
Challenger