I am sure cannonshop will eventually weight in on his opinion of the Yellow Jacket but . . .
. . . the Hawk Moth is a better option, and the AC/5 Warrior is sufficient IMO. Especially if you are modifying them, I just swap that AC for LBX since I want to send it hunting VTOLs or vehicles . . . but it can still load a slug as needed.
Which Sprints? a few are great ELINT birds, I love them. While the Pinto mini looks awesome, and the only VTOL I have . . . its not survivable compared to other VTOL options.
There are two kinds of cost: acquisition cost, and upkeep cost that people look at normally. There is a third, however.
The cost of "How often are you replacing it?"
not how much it costs to replace, but how often you're going to be paying that replacement cost.
I'd personally go with the Cavalry (multiple variants) over either the Jellowbucket or the Hawk-Moth, because you'll be paying to replace it less often.
alternately, a mix of H-8's and H-10s combined with Cavalry variants and (if you can get them) Mantises. This gives you fast recon and strike with a bit of troop movement to seize objectives or emplace infantry spotters.
why? YOu've already got better hovertanks than a Yellowjacket or Hawk-Moth, and a big-gun-duel with VTOLs is kinda...pointless unless you've got a flowing logistics train full of replacement airframes and pilots already in place to make up the losses you
will take for trying that.
successful VTOL usage is 'stick and move', not 'stand and deliver'.