It's been somewhat implied that Nika is probably the best engineering maintenance student enrolled at the moment. The innards might be different, but the cowling, paint, and testing/adjustments make them perform as a pair. It got exploded anyway. As for the speed, Suletta started catching up because she used the thrusters on the Bit Staves to meet the Pharact's performance.
The way Aerial uses them really is quite broken. Shield, beam cannon, bits, and thrusters. No wonder the big three wanted to destroy them as a competitor.
I'm not so sure it was a jamming wave so much as flooding the Pharact's systems with its own GUND-ARM connections.