Yeah, that's if you want detail.
Hence in most of my fanon, thruster type is important.
For example, Jia Long is limited to Mach 3.3 even at high altitude (as opposed to Mach 4 for most I.S.), due to her using rotating turbines than straight rocket or cyrogenic compressor. But she has WICKED acceleration by any I.S. standard, not even AkaTsubaki can comes close. Meanwhile, BT Strike Gunner is capable of reaching hypersonic speed (Mach 5+), but it's low speed flight is pathetically inefficient.
Otherwise, the usual. Rule of Cool. Hey, even I have visual stealth, strange ECM, and teleport.