The Valkyrie is as symbolic of the future of the Inner Sphere as was the formation of the Federated Commonwealth.   Indeed, the VLK-QD owes its origin to that alliance.   One of the challenges that faced Steiner and Davion military planners was how to give the disparate Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth units a sense of unity.   Adopting common strategy and insignia was part of this effort.   Reducing the variety and increasing the quality of equipment is another.
         The VLK-QD Valkyrie is one of the success stories of this effort.   Though the Valkyrie has always been common in Davion units, it was less available to other Successor States.   With the decoding of the Star League's mysteries, Corean Enterprises of New Avalon quickly set about applying the breakthroughs to the company's most successful design.   The result has proven so successful in field trials that the Valkyrie was selected as one of the Federated Commonwealth's standard light 'Mechs, with a huge increase in production ordered.
         Employing Endo Steel internal structure and Ferro-Fibrous armor has simultaneously reduced weight and increased protection.   The Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment enhances protection further, and the leftover weight difference allowed Corean to improve both weapons systems.   A Sutel Precision Line Medium Pulse Laser increases the firepower over the old Sutel IX model, and the addition of an Artemis IV fire-control system increases the accuracy of the long-range missiles.
         The only setback for the new design occurred before its genesis.   The Draconis Combine's capture of Marduk during the Fourth Succesion War deprived Corean of tis source for Valkyrie jump jets, Norse Industries.   Production lagged for years as designers tried one model after another, with results always less than satisfactory.   The strengthening of ties between the Federated Commonwealth and St. Ives Compact provided the solution to the problem.   Under pressure to trade with Compact firms, Corean tried the HildCo Model 12 jump jet and found that it worked well with the Valkyrie's other systems.