But why compare the A400M to the C-17, when it's intended as primarily a C-130 replacement, with the C-130 incapable of carrying FRES etc?
One's too small, the other's too big and expensive for most people to buy. The US army/AF is going the route of buying the even smaller C-27 at one end, and probably more C-17s at the other for political/pork barrel reasons. The C-130J line is hurting and has no real chance of survival because of it's load constraints. Someone had to build something in the middle.
As I understand it, based on previous threads, the need for the European heavy lift is based on different operating concepts between the US and the Germans. The Germans want a large box fuselage to carry vehicles, the USMC with the 53K want the extra couple of tons it will weigh as available underslung payload. They end up using the same, or similar powertrain parts between the two though.
Concept as defined last year:
Eurocopter’s hopes of producing a new heavy transport helicopter (HTH) with a maximum take-off weight of 36t have been boosted by the release of a joint request for information from the French and German defence minstries. Flight International has meanwhile obtained new information on the proposed three-engine design, which Eurocopter says will be capable of carrying up to 66 combat-equipped troops or a payload of up to 13t – 3,000kg (6,610lb) higher than previously stated.
First details of the HTH concept emerged at the Berlin air show almost two years ago, when Eurocopter also voiced an aspiration to develop the helicopter in collaboration with a US company (Flight International, 18-24 May 2004). The aircraft is intended as a replacement for Germany’s Sikorsky CH-53 Super Stallion transports.
To be manufactured in Germany, the composite-fuselage HTH has a seven-blade main rotor and fly-by-wire – or fly-by-light – flight controls. The current configuration is an aircraft with cargo box dimensions up to 2.75m (9ft) high, 3.1m wide and 9.1m long, enabling it to carry a variety of ground vehicles, including the German army’s 4,500kg Wiesel 2 scout car and France’s 13,000kg VAB armoured vehicle. Eurocopter expects the new design to have a service life of more than 30 years, or 15,000 flight hours, and to have a mission reliability rate of 97.5%. Company material indicates an estimated production run of up to 200 aircraft.