Originally Posted by
Asturias56
Partly because the UK were supporting AIrbus as an industry - there wasn't much UK content on either a C-130 or C-17
Partly on cost grounds - the C-17's sold to India were over $ 350 million each whereas the "target " price for an A400 is $85 million but are more like $ 120 million each
Interesting. I know C-17s weren’t cheap, but that seems steep. This source (
https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com...d-a-5th-02506/) suggests ours were in a range up to about $265 per unit. Perhaps the Indian price includes support? Either way slightly eye-watering, but seems as if A400 is now getting into that range, which is somewhat painful given that C-130s are a lot cheaper and we already have C-17s for the big stuff. But then I’m wildly excited by my shiny new A3 rifle (actually made in 1986), so really big shiny things are beyond me! Anyway, about paratroopers and ramps...