Seto wrote:She does a pretty stand-up job against the Bioroids in the AGACs... but by the latter half of the series the "Robotech Masters" are improving, and she's increasingly out of focus.
While the Masters can be said to be "improving", they can also be said to be "running on empty" more and more as the series progresses, so it might wash. It should also be noted that Dennis Brown makes a statement about the AGAC being a "no match" for the new Biroids (you don't hear that kind of talk from pilots in other VFs).
Seto wrote:There's that, yeah... with the Logan's minimal wing surface and less than stellar aerodynamics, I'm still not convinced it'd actually be able to get airborne, let alone carry ordinance.

Missiles aren't exactly plug-and-play, though, so there is the distinct possibility that the UEDF/ASC upgraded its missile tech in the period between the Logan and the AGACs and didn't bother to upgrade the Logan or couldn't due to some limiting factor.
You are right, missiles aren't plug-and-play, they have to go through certification and such. If the Logan didn't get upgraded though, it could mean it is on the way out and the return on investment is not worth it. Which brings me back to my early view that the Logan isn't being replaced because it did "poorly", it's just on its way out (likely due to age).
But you don't need wing surface area to mount ordinance though. According to the Infopedia, the native launchers are on the forearm/wing root (2E RPG calls it fuselage). The Logan's ability to get airborne, even with ordinance could be achieved by raw thrust alone.
Being able to take off is important, but there are avenues that would allow it. The Logan could have something like a JATO rocket allowing it take off in Fighter mode on the ground, the FAST PACKs themselves could provide the extra power to accommodate the extra weight (they are used in "Viva Miryia" for takeoff), etc.
[quote="Seto"]The Logan's transformation doesn't exactly afford it the opportunity to point its engines in the direction opposite travel, and having a great big rocket nozzle on the front of the pack would make placing the sensors for weapons systems extremely difficult.
[quote]
The Logan has to assume a full on Guardian to be able to point engines for breaking, in which case it has the center chest one, two in the shoulders, and two more in the legs. All of which are shown to be able to alter the Logan's vector individually, combined they could be x3 more potent. We do have to consider the possibility that those engines are not shown at full power in those instances due to relatively low speeds they are used at.
That though is only one way to setup the FAST packs. You could put:
-thrust vectoring on the main engines
-dedicated engine in a blister(s) for the main engine dorsal pod
-the breaking thrusters in the forearm
-the breaking thrusters in the leg, would need two smaller ones on each leg setup sort of like the VHT-1's
-on a new location not analogous to the VF-1 (like on the shoulders if the dorsal pods are on the twin engines)
-high thrust capacity maneuvering thrusters so it can execute a 180 turn for breaking
-reconfiguration technology into the dorsal pack so it can re-position itself like VF legs (Alpha/Beta/VF-1) for breaking manovers only on top. We know the FAST PACKs on the VF-1 are re-positionable ("Vivia Miryia"), so the basic premise is sound, we just need to evolve it
-afterburner like capacity into baseline engines via FAST PACKs, this might require the baseline nozzles to be replaced (staying behind even after the rest might be jettison) while running a propellant lines (presumably armored)
-alteration hardware (as part of the FAST PACK Package) onto some of the baseline engines nozzle geometry for increased thrust (this will have to alter the pressure at exit and/or the nozzle exit area)
-new engines up to the task IN the Logan