17 C17 or 25 A400M?
Niether!
What we need
NOW is just 3 reliable 200-250 seat strat pax/cargo airlifters, with the range to get to and from the 'Stan non-stop and equipped to keep our lads and ladettes safe during in-theatre arrival and departure. You can run a daily schedule with just two servicable, with surge capacity and enougth seats leftover for all to get their mid tour RnR.
And we do need this
NOW, not in 2012 or 2015 or whenever the FSTA PFI expects to provide us with replacements for our 40 year old strat AT fleet.
Have we go the finance to do this? Probably not, as its all gone on the A400M moneypit already.
Oh, and we could do with a few more movers as well!