During the early days of mobile suit development, many companies focused on improving the connection between the pilot and the machine, or in other words, using human as software. In contrast to this, Jeturk Heavy Machinery prioritized developing hardware that would be practical in combat and wouldn't demand as much skill from the pilot. The MD-0021 Desultor was created from this design philosophy. Equipped with armaments that allowed it to operate in a wide variety of combat situations, this unit proved the effectiveness of mobile suits as weapons. During the raid on Plant Quetta in A.S. 122, the anti-Spacian organization known as the Dawn of Fold used several Desultors that had been illegally obtained. While the Desultor was considered obsolete by some in this era, its reliable combat capabilities had yet to become outdated, and it was still seeing active deployments in battlefields across the galaxy.

Shaddiq Zenelli provided six Desultors to the Dawn of Fold during the attack on Plant Quetta in Lagrange 4. Shaddiq's intention was to cast suspicion on Jeturk Heavy Machinery for their supposed involvement in the procurement of the mobile suits to the terrorist group.