That is silly. I can't help but think that it would've made more sense to simply rig up a mount point/data connection on Ptichka's and OV-500's bellies and mount them together face to face for long-range missions. Perhaps call OV-500 Wren's Eagle. (The Wren is considered the King of birds. When the birds held a contest to determine who would be their ruler, they decided that their king should be the one to fly the highest. Almost every bird tried valiantly, and the Eagle reached the highest point. But the Wren was so small that he hid on the Eagle's back without his noticing Wren's weight, and when the Eagle reached his highest point, the Wren flew up from the Eagle's back, going higher and thus winning the crown.)
On the other hand, silly isn't necessarily a bad thing, and thinking about it, the "Wren's Eagle" setup implies that Eagle is a separate entity in grudging service to Ptichka. Maybe OV-500 is Wren's Eagle, who sued for independence, resulting in the "Mobile Suit Ptichka" setup above but with a later OV-number. Eagle is still willing to act as transport for Ptichka's Buran self if the mobile suit is down for maintenance or whatever and they're going the same way, but otherwise insists on acting independently.
On the gripping hand, it's entirely possible that the folks at VVS foresaw the problems with the "Wren's Eagle" arrangement and decided to skip it entirely, leaving us with Mal's original plan.
On the other hand, silly isn't necessarily a bad thing, and thinking about it, the "Wren's Eagle" setup implies that Eagle is a separate entity in grudging service to Ptichka. Maybe OV-500 is Wren's Eagle, who sued for independence, resulting in the "Mobile Suit Ptichka" setup above but with a later OV-number. Eagle is still willing to act as transport for Ptichka's Buran self if the mobile suit is down for maintenance or whatever and they're going the same way, but otherwise insists on acting independently.
On the gripping hand, it's entirely possible that the folks at VVS foresaw the problems with the "Wren's Eagle" arrangement and decided to skip it entirely, leaving us with Mal's original plan.