Originally Posted by
pr00ne
KenV C-17 had numerous issues in its early days...
Indeed. I was there. The program was massively mismanaged by the SPO. DoD told Douglas "40 and no more." But C-17 never had these kind of basic performance issues. And after delivering the first dozen or so, the program stabilized and Douglas got more orders, including even a multi-year contract for 80 aircraft. Unheard of at the time. First flight to the first operational squadron took less than 4 years.
In contrast, Airbus has produced 65 A400s over a span of 8+ years. Yet not only is the program not stabilized, but the aircraft delivered do not have the promised tactical capabilities and apparently will never get some of them.