But do not forget, the Jaguars had one of the best military R&D of all Clans. Just look at the excellent Omnimechs they designed. And the Protomechs.
I have ever wondered why the Star Adders being described as pragmatic and quite economic powerful Clans have had invented only so few new Mech designs.
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Of Omnimech I can only remember the Adder and the Blood Asp
They developed the Kokou tank, which was eventually phased out. The Corona BA. They developed the Heavy Lasers which is no joke considering how common that family of weapons has become throughout the Clans. The Hellfire, the Burrock.
The Adders always get called out for being pragmatic and this next bit is a real testament to that. When TRO Project Phoenix came out, the Adders were noted for making heavy use of several of these these updated machines, particularly the Marauder IIC 2 they developed themselves, as well as the Warhammer IIC 4 (developed by the Sharks) that they adopted heavy use of, which they pushed into the front-line in their fight against the Spirits, as a strategic play when they initiated their operations on York. Even if/when the Spirits won a Trial, they won it against a supposedly inferior "non-Omni" machine, which by traditional Clan thinking meant it was a tainted or just lesser victory. The Adders equipped entire Clusters of Beta Galaxy (a front-line unit) with these types of machines in their fight against the Spirits on York. That also means that a lot of front-line warriors checked their ego, embraced that pragmatism, and accepted driving these non-Omni machines. Which is impressive because the Clan norm at the time was that front-line warriors drove Omnis, period. To be given anything else was seen as an insult in many Clans, worthy of starting a Trial over, but the Adders seemed to have either not have that problem, or had found a way to convince their warriors of the superiority of this plan. FM: CC refers to Adder warriors thinking in terms of strategic victory, rather than tactical, and I think this might be a good example of that, in addition to the more obvious pragmatism to it. The machine is not an Omni but is otherwise excellent, so I'll use it (pragmatic).
Beyond just the campaign for York, the Adder willingness to invest so much into improving their second-line forces with better/newer machines equipped with advanced technology is another example of pragmatic (and strategic) thinking. The landscape was shifting at the time, fighting was heating up in the Homeworlds, and the Adders probably recognized that their second-line forces would face more fighting in the predictable future and needed a boost.
So the Adders didn't develop a lot of the Omnis that were out there, no, but they weren't idle either. They just focused on a different set of priorities. They were also quite willing to adopt a design developed by another Clan (like a lot of the 3050 Omnis) if it did the job and fit with the Adder model of warfare. That once again strikes me as pragmatic.
A great example from a different Clan is the Nova Cat Khan Severen Leroux. He flew a Scytha, a Falcon-designed fighter. Most writeups on him as a person point to this as an expression of his flexible and pragmatic thinking. Era Report: 3052 said of him something like "if a tool did the job, he used it."
Apply similar logic to the Adders, add in the fact that they had a large touman equipped with a large number of heavy/assault 'mechs, and you start to understand their approach to things pre-3050. They let other Clans who were hyper-focused on developing the next best-OmniMech do the R&D while the Adders then concentrated their resources on acquiring the existing designs they wanted to deploy in their touman in large numbers. Then later in the post-3050 environment they adapted to emerging new technologies (and contributed some of their own to the mix, like the heavy lasers), new ways of thinking (the Corona in the general reevaluation of specialized BA designs among the Clans). They also made some selective choices about which 'mechs they would employ against the new hated enemy, the Spirits, based on strategic thinking, rather than warrior ego.
Meanwhile other aggressive Clans focused on what the hot-blooded young warriors wanted, unveiling the next signature OmniMech which would terrorize the battlefield. They developed lots of signature OmniMechs, yet neglected some other areas like the second-line forces and campaign logistics.
I'm not saying the Adder approach was perfect. But I can respect it.
